Lost Love and Time
by TheSTT
Summary: After being sent to prison for seventeen years Alex Vause wanted to live a normal life. She managed to get a well paying job, a roof over her head and a new social life. Everything was going great until one day a teenage girl walked into her life bringing back old memories.
1. Chapter 1

It was roughly six in the morning when Alex heard the all too familiar sound of the baby crying. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and made her way down the hall to his room. She quietly opened the door and tiptoed over to his crib. "Hey Tony, what's the matter?" Alex carefully picked the five-month-old up. He immediately stopped crying once Alex held him. "Did you really just want attention?" Tony smiled before burying his face in Alex's neck.

"Yo Vause, what are you doing with my boy?" Alex turned around to see Nicky turning the baby monitor off.

"I heard little man here crying. I figured I would take care of him so you and Lorna wouldn't need to get up."

"I appreciate it but you know how Lorna is, once she hears him cry one of us has to check on him. But, you seem to calm him down."

"We're best friends, I understand him."

"Oh yeah? Well, do you mind if I take your best friend and bring him to his mom?"

"No go ahead. I need to get ready for work anyway." Alex handed Tony over to Nicky which made him a little cranky.

"Sorry bud, I gotta go."

"What time will you be home? Lorna worries about you walking home."

"Supposed to be two but if my schedule isn't booked I can leave early."

"Alright, if you need a ride just call."

"Thanks, Nick."

Alex went back to her room and started getting ready for work. She worked at one of the many gyms in their area. If you would have told Alex when she was little she would be working at a gym, she would have laughed at you. But after being in prison for seventeen years and working out regularly, it changed her mind drastically. She packed her standard tank top, running shorts, running shoes, sweatpants and jacket for the day. Alex flung her back over her shoulder and ran downstairs to grab the little "snack pack" Lorna made for her almost every day. After doing a final check to make sure she had everything she needed, Alex put her earbuds in and started towards the gym.

She had only been out of prison for two months so she didn't have enough money for a car. Nicky would ask her frequently if she wanted a ride and so did her coworkers, but Alex's pride was too big to accept their offer. Alex walked for twenty minutes before she made it to the gym. The familiar smell of sweat, sanitary spray and gym mats hit the brunette as soon as she stepped in.

"There she is! I was wondering when you'd show." Jason yelled from behind the counter beside the door. Jason was pretty much the male version of Alex. He was tall, good looking, a complete smart ass and nice to people he liked.

"The gym's only been open for like five minutes. From the looks of it, no one has stepped foot in here besides you."

"I'm just messing with you, Vause. I checked the schedule and you have a client coming in at six thirty."

"Shit, who is it?"

"Let me check…it says Ryder S. for cardio."

"Fuck! I hate that guy. If he would put as much work in to actually working out as he did complaining, he would actually show some progress. "

"I know it sucks but we get paid extra for clients."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Do you think you could handle the desk while I get ready?"

"I think I'll be able to hold down the fort." Jason kicked back in his chair making Alex roll her eyes. She went to the staff locker room to change before eating what Lorna packed for her. When Alex walked back to the front desk and saw Ryder standing there talking to Jason.

"There's Alex." Josh pointed to his coworker with an apologetic smile.

"Thanks man. Hey Alex, ready to train me."

"I sure am, Ryder."

"Awesome dude. What are we starting with today?"

"Did you stretch before you came?"

"Yes I did."

"Alright, hit the treadmill for ten minutes while I check on a few things."

Ryder nodded and walked over to the treadmills. Alex walked behind the front desk to check the rest of her schedule when the phone rang. "I got it." Jason picked up the landline and greeted the caller with their slogan "If you have flab we can make it bad". Alex was flipping through each trainer's schedule until she finally found her own. After Ryder, she had two more clients for the day and the next day she had three in total.

"Alex, would you be okay taking another client today? She hadn't been here before so you'll have to go through all the physicals and paperwork."

"Sure what time?"

"Right after your last client leaves."

"Yeah I can manage."

"Alex, do I have to run for ten minutes? My feet are kind of sore from Wednesday's workout." Ryder yelled from across the room.

"I'm going to kill home one of these days." Alex angrily whispered to Jason before walking over to the treadmills.

* * *

"Good work today, Ms. Zachary. I'll see you tomorrow at ten, right?"

"Yes you will, Alex."

"Alright, see you tomorrow."

"Alex wait, there's something I've been wanting to ask you for a while now." The brunette grabbed Alex's wrist forcing her to face her.

"Yes?"

"Is there a Mr. or Mrs. Vause at home?"

"Um…no it's just me."

"Maybe we could hang out sometime as friends instead of trainer and client?"

"S-sure."

"Here's my cell, call or text me."

The brunette handed Alex a business card before walking out of the gym. Alex was a little taken back when she read the card. _Anna Zachary Attorney at Law Cell Phone: 874-9532_. She could already see how that relationship would go.

 _"_ _So how long have you been working at the gym?"_

 _"_ _Two months. I snagged it right after I got released from prison after seventeen years for drug trafficking."_

 _"_ _Oh…you know I don't think I'm ready for a relationship."_

"I might get an expensive dinner out of it." Alex slid the card in her shorts. She walked over to the time sheet and wrote down the workout they did and the time she left. As soon as Alex finished filling the time sheet out, the front door opened. Alex looked up to see a very pretty blonde woman with sparkling green eyes standing in a school uniform. The brunette recognized the uniform immediately, it belonged to a private high school on the Upper East Side.

"Hi, how can I help you?"

"Hi. My name is Blair Chapman, I scheduled a meeting with Alex Vause." Hearing the forbidden last name made Alex's heart hurt and her blood boil. She hadn't seen Piper since she was sent to prison, the last thing she heard from the former love of her life was a short-written note that simply said _I'm so sorry, I can't wait seventeen years. I'll always love you._

"Um…miss?" Alex snapped out of her daze to see the girl giving her a strange look.

"Right sorry, Jason told me about you. Well it's nice to meet you, Blair. I'm Alex." The brunette extended her hand to the blonde. Blair carefully shook Alex's hand with a shaky smile.

"So the first thing we need to do is fill out some paper work. If you'll follow me to the office."

Alex lead the girl over to the main office a few feet from the front desk. Alex could have very easily walked into a wall, all she could think about was Piper. She thought about that damn smile of hers, the way she snorted when she laughed too hard and the way her eyes always seemed to sparkle. _'You do not miss her. Don't you dare think you miss her.'_ The brunette screamed in her head even though she knew it wasn't true.

"Okay first I need you to fill out your basic information like phone number, address, things like that. Then I'll see how advanced you are in your workouts." Alex grabbed all the papers out of the desk drawer. She slid the papers over to the blonde who was just standing there looking at Alex.

"Blair, are you okay?"

"I-I need to tell you something."

"If it's about your school schedule we can figure things out."

"No it's not about that. I know this is going to sound ridiculous but…you're my mother. Piper Chapman is my mom too but I'm biologically yours."

"You're-you're Piper's kid?"

"Yes I am. I don't want money or anything I just wanted to see you."

Alex felt her head spin while trying to figure out how that was possible. They did try for a baby a few months before Alex was arrested. _'There's no way…Piper told me that the treatment failed. She told me she wasn't pregnant.'_ The sudden realization that Blair very well could have been her daughter made Alex dizzy. She sat down in the office chair and stared blankly at Blair.

"You're my kid…holy shit."

"I know this is a lot to take in…I can leave if you want." The idea of losing her daughter again so soon after she met her made the brunette snap out of her daze.

"No! No! don't leave. I just can't believe it."

"It's pretty crazy, but I'm glad I got to meet you."

"I'm glad I got to meet you too. So, how did you find me? How did you find out I was your mom?"

"We had this family project to do for sociology class. I needed pictures of my mom from every time in her life. When I got to her twenties there were no pictures in any photo album she had. I asked my dad and he said she had a bunch in her closet. I look through them and there they all were, you were in every single picture."

"So you thought I was your mom just because I was in every picture?"

"No. I found this pregnancy journal she kept. She wrote about missing you so much and how hard it was knowing that you were gone so you couldn't see me grow up."

 _'_ _Of course Piper would find a way to make me going to prison about her.'_

"You said you had a dad?"

"Yeah I do. He's been in my life since I was a baby." The thought of another person raising _her_ child made Alex's heart break, it also made her want to punch whoever this guy was in the face.

"Is he a good guy? He takes care of you and your mom?"

"Yeah he is, his name is Carter. He's a police officer so we're always safe. He really-" Blair was cut off by her phone ringing. "It's my mom. Can I take it?"

"Yeah of course."

"Hey mom."

Blair walked out of the office giving Alex much needed alone time. She sat back, desperately wanting a cigarette even though she hadn't had one in a year. The idea of having a child was terrifying for Alex but the idea that her child was taken away without her knowing completely overshadowed that fear. Alex watched Blair talk to Piper. She was just like her mother, she leaned against any available surface and used her free hand to talk even though Piper couldn't see it. She managed to see Blair roll her eyes a few times, even after seventeen years Piper still knew how to make someone roll their eyes. After a few moments Blair walked back into the office with a sad look on her face.

"Mom wants me home."

"Oh…well if Piper wants you home then you better go. Can I have your phone number?"

"Of course and my address too. Please don't be a stranger, call or text whenever you want. The only time I can't answer is obviously when I'm in school, which I'm in from eight to three."

"I defiantly will, kid." Blair smiled from ear to ear at the nickname.

"Okay. I'll see you later um…Alex?"

"I'll see you later, Blair."

Blair flashed Alex another smile before walking out to her waiting car. The brunette walked out just in time to see her daughter get into the back of a black Mercedes Benz.

"Alex got a rich girl, Alex got a rich girl. I bet she's the kind of girl who gives you tips after every work out."

"She's my daughter."

"Oh shit…I didn't know you had a daughter."

"I didn't either, J."

* * *

Almost an hour later Blair's town car dropped her off outside the apartment building where she and her family lived. It was on the notorious Upper East Side of Manhattan meaning as soon as she stepped out, the door man was holding the door open wide for her.

"Welcome Ms. Chapman."

"Hello, Danny. Hey, was my mom in a good mood when she came in?"

"Mrs. Chapman was…stressed."

"Great. Thanks Danny."

Blair walked to the large elevator and waited patiently. She was beyond nervous to return home because of Piper's current state. The company Piper and her Aunt Polly had started was expanding its store's oversea and everything was stressing her out. She was also afraid that Piper would somehow figure out her sweet daughter, who always played by the rules, went behind her back to find the part of her life she wanted to stay hidden. When Blair steeped into the elevator the blonde pressed the pent house button. After watching the numbers climb unbelievably high, Blair stepped into the penthouse.

"Blair there you are. I was worried sick." Piper immediately wrapped her daughter in a hug.

"I'm okay, mom. I just made a few stops after school."

"Let me know next time, okay? You're my only kid." The older blonde pulled away and smiled.

"I will, I promise."

"Good. What do you want for dinner? I'm having Diana come cook for us because I'm so stressed."

"I'm fine with whatever. I'm going to head to my room and start on homework."

"Okay, I'll yell for you when dinner is ready."

"Thanks mom."

Blair smiled at her mother before running down the hall to her room. She did have homework but I was only a page and was so simple a toddler could figure it out. Instead, she sat on her bed waiting for her phone to buzz. Blair waited and waited until finally the screen lit up with a text from an unknown number.

Hey kid, It's Alex. Just letting you know its me

Blair: Thanks! I'm sorry I had to leave so soon

Alex (mom): Hey it's okay. I know how your mother gets

Blair: Are you doing anything tomorrow?

Alex (mom): Just working, I should be done before you get out of school

Blair: So we can hang out?

Alex (mom): Yes we can hang out, kid

Blair: Great! Coffee at five sound good?

Alex (mom): Perfect kid, just text me the place

"Texting your boyfriend?" Blair's head shot up to see her dad standing in the doorway wearing his police uniform.

"No, Finn. He had a math question."

"Huh, well it must have been a pretty funny math question to make you smile like that."

"It was. That boy still thinks two plus two equals five."

"Well he is Polly and Pete's kid. Come on, Diana is making salad for dinner so it's pretty much done."

"I'll be there in a second."

Carter walked away, his boots echoing throughout the pent house. Blair looked back down at her phone and texted Alex again.

Blair: Rose's on 64th street. See you there mom

Blair jumped off her bed and walked back into the kitchen to have dinner with her family, well part of her family.

 **Thanks for reading this guys! This story is an idea I've had for a while but just now figured out how I want it to go. Let me know what you think in the reviews and I will see you guys next chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2

Piper looked herself over in the mirror. She was wearing a black dress that fit her perfectly, her hair was stick straight and she wore red high heels. She and Polly had a meeting with the company that wanted to sell PoPi overseas, if everything went well there would be nothing left to worry about because the company would handle everything.

"You look beautiful." Carter stood behind Piper wearing his uniform.

"Thank you. You look very handsome."

"Thank you. So are you ready for this big meeting today?"

"I am. Polly and I were up until two going over everything."

"I was-"

"Mom! Dad! I'm leaving now!" Blair yelled interrupting Piper and Carter. Piper ran out into the living room to see her daughter walking towards the elevator.

"Where are you going? School doesn't start for another hour."

"I'm meeting Finn for breakfast."

"Oh…okay. Are you coming home right after school?"

"No, I'm going to get coffee with Luna. We haven't hung out in a while."

"What time will you be done? I'm going to be working late so maybe we can meet for dinner."

"I'm not sure but I'll let you know. I really need to go if I want to meet Finn on time."

"Alright go. I love you, have a good day."

"I love you too, mom."

Piper watched as her daughter got into the elevator, something seemed off about Blair. Blair wasn't one to stray away from her schedule and she certainly would stray from it just to get breakfast.

"Where's she off too?"

"Breakfast with Finn. Once I get done with this deal today, I want us to take a vacation."

"Where did this come from?"

"Blair normally tells me everything but these last few weeks she's been really distant. I want us to take a vacation far, far away from our crazy lives."

"I think that's a great idea. Let's talk about it tonight when we're all home."

"Sounds good. Now, I'm going to meet Polly. I'll see you when I get home, okay?"

"Okay. I love you."

"I love you too." Piper kissed her husband before stepping into the elevator.

* * *

The car pulled up to a small café a few blocks away from the Chapman apartment. Blair stepped out onto the busy sidewalk and immediately saw Finn sitting at a table. His hair was slicked back like it normally was and he was wearing the school uniform. The white short sleeved button up shirt was supposed to be tucked in but in typical Finn fashion, it was untucked and unbutton revealing a grey tank top.

"Took you long enough to get here. Your bagel is probably cold and your juice is probably warm." Blair sat down across from Finn while playfully rolling her eyes.

"I'm not _that_ late and I was talking to my mom, that's why it took so long."

"How is Aunt Piper? I know my mom was freaking out about their meeting today."

"She's just stressed about it but she's ready for it."

"Nice. So, what is this big important secret you need to tell me that couldn't wait until third period?" Finn asked before taking a sip of his juice.

"I found my biological mom." The orange juice Finn had just sipped spewed out all over the concrete ground and drew a few looks from strangers around them.

"Holy shit! You actually went through with it?!"

"Yeah I did. I…I met her yesterday."

"Wow Blair, I didn't think you had it in you."

"I had to know and now I do."

"Was she as great as you'd hoped she'd be?"

"Well not exactly but she's still pretty cool. She has tattoos, works in a gym and went to prison."

"SHE WENT TO PRISON?!" Finn screamed drawing looks back towards them.

"Keep it down! Yes she went to prison, it's not a big deal."

"Obviously it is or she wouldn't have gone to prison."

"Shut up, Finn."

"I'm just saying. Do you know what she was in for?"

"A whole list of stuff that had to do with drugs."

"So you're biological mom is an ex-felon who went to prison for drugs, has tattoos and works in a gym? Carter is going to love her."

"Carter doesn't know about her and my mom doesn't know that I know her. You cannot under any circumstances tell your mom or my mom."

"I won't. Blair, are you sure you want a relationship with this woman?"

"I know I do. You don't know what it's like not knowing who your other parent is. You never had to wonder why you have green eyes and both of your parents have blue. You never had to question your whole life."

"One time my dad went to Alaska for five months. He came back with a full beard and my mom beat him with a hockey stick for leaving."

"Why are our families so weird?"

"Because they wouldn't be ours if they weren't. Now, let's stop talking about our weird families and eat before we go to prison for the day."

* * *

Alex had always been able to handle hangovers with ease. She used to be able to drink however much she wanted and wake up the next morning without feeling anything. But that was years ago, she had gotten older. When Alex opened her eyes she immediately felt a hard pounding in her head. "Oh fuck." She sat up and put her hand against her forehead in hopes it would stop the pain. "Alex?" A soft voice asked alerting Alex. She looked down to see Anna Zachary lying shirt and braless beside her.

"Like what you see?" Anna asked stretching out her arms.

"Yeah I do."

"Come here then."

Alex leaned down while Anna wrapped her arms around the brunette's shoulders. When Alex was situated on top of Anna there was barely an inch that separated the two. From an outsider's point of view, they looked like a couple straight out of a cheesy romantic movie. They were both smiling, their noses brushing against one another and looking like they were about to kiss. Sure enough, Anna lifted her head allowing for a sweet kiss. Alex was the one to pull away with a smirk.

"Do you always look that proud of yourself, Alex Vause?"

"A good portion of the time."

"You're amazing." Anna said running her fingers up and down Alex's back.

"I'm far from it."

"No you're not. Not many people can spend seventeen years in prison and come out like you."

"Like me?"

"You know, funny, smart, sarcastic."

"A smart ass is what you mean."

"Exactly but I like it." Anna pulled Alex back down for a kiss, this time more passionate. Alex opened her eyes while the kiss continued to see the clock read 10:35 AM.

"Shit I'm really late for work." Alex flung herself out of bed and scrambled to find her clothes.

"I called Jason and told him you weren't coming in today."

"Oh…thanks."

"No problem. Why don't you come back to bed?"

"As much as I would love to, I need to head home."

"Come on, stay for a little bit."

"I need to talk to Nicky about some stuff. I'll text you later, okay?"

"Fine, but you'll be missing all of this." Anna gestured over her full body.

Alex put her clothes on before kissing Anna goodbye and making the journey home. As she exited the luxury apartment building the events of the night came flooding back. After work, she had gone to a bar to try and make sense of having a daughter. While drinking she called Anna to join her then told her everything about her life except for Blair. One thing lead to another and they ended up tangled in Anna's sheets. Part of her was disappointed that she jumped right into sex with Anna but the other part was proud of getting herself laid.

She made it home after a slightly difficult twenty-minute walk. Alex walked through the front door and was met by Nicky standing at the bottom of the staircase. The wild haired woman had bags under her eyes, it looked like she hadn't slept the night before.

"Vause, there you are! Walk of shame treat you well?"

"How do you know I did the walk of shame?"

"Mother's intuition. Was it a one-night stand or a more serious thing?"

"She wants it to be a serious thing, I'm not sure yet."

"I think you should try and make it a serious thing. It'll help you forget Chapman once and for all."

Hearing the last name reminded Alex of what she needed to tell Nicky. She didn't know how her friend would react when she found out about her teenage daughter. "You eat yet? Lorna made breakfast before she left for her sister's." Nicky motioned for Alex to follow her into the kitchen. While Nicky pulled out plates of food from the refrigerator, the brunette tried to think of how to tell Nicky the news.

"Hey Nick, I need to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"I have a daughter, Nicky." Nicky laughed while continuing to prepare the food.

"Oh yeah? You're just so good in bed that you can go against biology and science to get women pregnant?"

"No. When Piper and I were together we…we tried to have a baby." Nicky turned around with a confused look on her face.

"You did what?"

"We tried to have a baby. We used my egg and tried to put it inside of Piper."

"And what? Piper didn't tell you she was knocked up?"

"No, she didn't. A few weeks after we tried I got arrested."

"That bitch didn't tell you she was pregnant with your kid. That is so fucked up."

"I met her yesterday, Nicky."

"You did?! What's she like?"

"She looks a little like me but acts like Piper. She also goes to a private school."

"Of course Chapman sends her to a private school."

"I know but it's a good school."

"Have you told your mom yet?"

"Fuck no. I need to figure out a subtle way to do it."

"Invite her over to tell her. I love it when Diane flips out on you."

"She'll do more than flip out. She might just kill me this time."

"If you survive the attack, I would love to meet little Vause-Chapman."

"Her name is Blair."

"I would love to meet Blair if that's okay with you."

"That's fine with me. She wants to get to know me so she'll have to meet you."

Suddenly there was a loud cry that filled the kitchen from the baby monitor. Nicky sighed while shaking her head.

"He was down for five whole minutes."

"I'll go grab him."

"No, go clean yourself up. You look a little rough to be meeting your kid for the second time."

Nicky went back upstairs to retrieve her son while Alex went upstairs to shower.

* * *

Blair sat anxiously outside Rose's café waiting for Alex. She kept looking at her phone to check the time, it was 4:56 and Alex still wasn't there. The blonde began to think that her mother forgot about her or simply didn't want to meet. She defiantly got her doubtful thoughts from Piper.

"Hey kid. Mind if sit there?" Blair looked up from her phone and saw Alex leaning over the railing that separated the tables from the busy sidewalk.

"Not at all." Alex smiled as she walked around the railing and sat down across from her daughter.

"How was school today?"

"It was okay. In calculous we learned about derivatives, in english we analyzed _The Catcher in the Rye_ , in sociology we learned the differences between sociopaths and psychopaths and then we really didn't do anything in our other classes."

"Wow, you're taking some hard classes."

"I don't think they're that hard. The hardest class I think I have is French, there's so many conjugations. What classes did you take in school?"

"I took the needed classes. Basic math, basic english, basic history, a semester of Spanish and basic science."

"I take it you didn't like school?"

"I hated it, thought it was a waist of my time. Looking back, I wish I would have taken it more seriously and actually tried. I'm glad you got your love of school from your mom."

"I don't love it as much as mom did. I would never run for class president, it's just too much work. Plus I wouldn't have time to play field hockey."

"You play field hockey?"

"Yeah! I practiced all summer and coach said it really paid off. I'm on the starting lineup."

"That's awesome. When I was your age I hated sports."

"Really? That's funny since you work in a gym now."

"I know right. Have you guys already started the season?"

"Not yet, our first game is next Friday. You can come if you want, that is if you're not busy."

"I'm sure I can make it. Is it at the school?"

"Yeah it is, it starts at five."

"I'll be there, kid."

Blair smiled at Alex's response. It made the brunette happy knowing that her daughter was excited for her to show up to her game. Alex excused herself so she could go inside and get a coffee, leaving Blair alone. The blonde pulled out her phone to text Finn to let him know how great things were going.

"Blair, there you are." Piper's cheery voice announced. Blair felt her blood run cold when she saw her mother.

"H-hey mom."

"I didn't know you were coming here to get coffee. It's a little far from the school."

"It's a-it's worth the drive."

"Is Luna inside getting coffee?"

"Yeah she is."

"I'll wait for her to come out. I wanted to talk to her about her mother's dress company."

"Um…the line is really long. I can just tell her you wanted to talk."

"That's okay, I've got all the time in the world now that the deal has gone through."

"No mom, you should really go I wouldn't want you to wait."

"It's fine, really."

Blair heard the café door open, she turned her head to see Alex walking out holding a coffee. Alex smiled at Blair before looking up to see the woman standing beside her. In that moment, the world seemed to go into slow motion for Alex. There, in front of her, stood the love of her life that she hadn't seen in seventeen years.

"Oh my God." Both women whispered without breaking eye contact with one another.

"Mom, don't freak out." Blair reached for Piper's arm. The older blonde continued to stare at Alex.

"You're out of prison." Piper managed to whisper through her shock.

"Yeah I am."

"You-you know Blair?"

"Yeah, I know _my_ daughter." Alex and Blair could see Piper's face go visibly white.

"I-Alex, you have to understand-"

"Let's not talk about this in front of Blair. I don't want her to hear about it." Piper and Alex continued to stare at one another in silence. Blair decided it was the perfect moment to have her family together.

"Alex, do you want to come over to our house? You can look at my adorable baby pictures." Alex looked down at Blair then back to Piper.

"If it's okay with your mother, I would like to."

Blair grabbed Piper's arm which made the older blonde look down. Blair's green eyes were wide and begging for Piper to say 'yes'. Piper was conflicted, on one hand she wanted Alex to know their daughter but on the other hand, she didn't want to admit the terrible choice she made to keep their family apart.

"If she isn't busy."

"I'm not."

"Then let's go."

Blair practically jumped out of her seat. Alex snapped out of her daze and followed Blair out onto the sidewalk. The three women got into the back of Blair's town car. The younger blonde sat in the middle and told the driver to take them home. The ride was quiet, the only noise was that of the constant traffic. When they reached the apartment building Alex felt her heart beat hard against her chest, it was the same building Anna lived in. "Are you okay, Alex?" Blair asked as soon as she noticed the strange look on Alex's face. "I'm good, just-I'm good." The three women exited the car with Piper leading. When they finally reached the pent house Alex breathed a sigh of relief, she would have no idea how to explain her situation to Anna or Blair and Piper.

"Nice place you got here." Alex wasn't really that surprised when she looked around to see all the extravagant and extremely expensive items in their home. Hard wood floors, granite countertops, a large television and some type of fur rug decorated mist of what she could see.

"You know, I just realized I left my book bag in the car. I'm going to go grab it." Blair smiled before running towards the elevator. Piper desperately wanted to grab Blair and make her wait so she didn't have to be with Alex alone. Of course when the elevator doors shut, that idea was demolished.

"Alex, before you start I just want you to know I'm really sorry."

"You're sorry? You do realize that you're the reason why I didn't know Blair existed, right? You're the reason why she grew up without her mother." Alex stood defensively a few feet away from Piper.

"I'm her mother too, Alex."

"Not a very good one. What mother would keep their child away from their other parent?" The brunette flung her arms out for dramatic purposes.

"You don't have the right to come into _my_ home and insult me. I did what I thought was best for everyone." Piper said in her angry yet defensive tone.

"Keeping my daughter away from me was what you thought was best?"

"You were gone and you weren't coming back for seventeen years. I knew that making the trip upstate with a newborn wouldn't be easy for either of us. I knew that if I told you I was pregnant I would have to take Blair to see you every weekend and then watch you try not to cry when we left. You know things would have gotten worse as she got older, she wouldn't want to leave you or she would resent you for being in prison. I was protecting both of you."

"We could have worked through all of that."

"Be realistic, Alex. We couldn't do it even if we wanted to. Let's face it we were just too young to have a baby."

"You don't regret having her, do you?"

"Of course not! I love her more than anything in this world. I just wish we would have waited a few more years. Things could have been different."

"Even if we waited a few more years I still would have been in prison."

"But we would have been older, more stable, married even." The last part made Alex perk up.

"Married? I couldn't see you being okay with a prison wedding."

"I would have because I would have been marring you. I don't know if you remember or not but at one point in my life _you_ were my world. I would have done anything for and with you." The room fell silent as both women went back and forth between looking at one another and the floor. Alex felt a rush of very, very, _very_ old feelings hit her while Piper felt guilt and regret fill her.

"If you give me the chance, I want to be a part of your world and Blair's."

"Alex…I'm married now."

"I know you are but as idiotic as it sounds, I still love you." There was a faint pause that made Piper's heart thud against her chest. Hearing Alex tell her she loved her made the blonde feel like it was the first time she said it all over again.

"Because you are the mother of my child." Piper snapped out of her thoughts and gave Alex a confused look.

"What?"

"I know you are but as idiotic as it sounds, I still love you because you are the mother of my child. Without you Blair wouldn't be here."

"Oh…right of course."

"So, will you give me a chance to make up for lost time?"

"If you promise me one thing."

"What is it?"

"Don't break her heart, Alex. She's such a sweet girl who gives everything in anything she does. She's doing everything she can to start a relationship with you, please don't fuck this up."

"I promise I would never purposely break her heart."

"That's all I ask." The women went silent again until Alex decided to ask the question that had really been eating away at her.

"So this husband of yours."

"His name is Carter and he's a police officer."

"So I've been told. Does he know about our situation?"

"All he knows is that I'm not in contact with Blair's father." Piper giggled which made Alex smirk.

"Will he be okay with me being around or will I have to worry about being arrested for seeing my daughter?"

"I'll talk to him. He's very protective over Blair, she's his little girl."

"She's my daughter."

"Al, I know you want to be a mother to Blair but you have to realize Carter was there first."

"She's my daughter. If he does anything and I mean anything at all to keep her away from me, I won't hesitate to kill him. I don't give a fuck that he was 'there first' blood is thicker than water."

"Alex, calm down."

"It's not fair and I know the world isn't fair but…it just…"

"I know, Al."

Piper cautiously approached Alex. She carefully wrapped her arms around the brunette's torso. To the blonde's surprise, Alex wrapped her arms around Piper. The hug brought back the familiar feeling of safety that could only be provided by the one and only Alex Vause. When they pulled away Alex wiped a few stray tears away.

"Sorry. I always told myself I would be a better parent than my dad was. Here I am being just like him."

"You're nothing like your dad. Alex, you care so much about Blair and you've known her for two days. That's a pretty good parent in my eyes."

"I'm back! Thankfully the driver hadn't parked the car yet." Blair announced as she walked into the living room where she saw her mother's looking extremely close.

"Hey kid, you're back." Alex said with a genuine smile.

"I am. Did you guys miss me?"

"Of course we did." Piper said poking out from behind Alex. Blair was giving both women a questioning look, one they both recognized from many times of being caught hugging or kissing at the Chapman's home.

"You know I was promised some pretty adorable baby pictures if I came over here." The brunette said in an attempt to stop Blair from giving them the look.

"Blair, why don't you pull out all the photo albums? Alex has a lot to look over."

"Okay." Blair walked past the two and towards the office where they kept the photo albums. Once Piper heard the door close she stepped closer to Alex.

"You can stay for dinner if you want. I think Blair would like that."

"I would like that too. Thank you, Pipes."

"No, thank you."

 **Thank you guys so much for the reviews, favs and follows! I'm glad you guys enjoy this story so much. Unfortunately there will be a slight delay in updates next week since I have a lot going on. I promise to do my best to update as often as possible while putting out quality chapters.** **If you would like please leave a review and let me know how you feel about the story. U** **ntil next time guys and thank you again!**


	3. Chapter 3

Piper sat in the cold stands watching Blair's field hockey game. The game had been going on for about twenty minutes and Alex still wasn't there. It worried the blonde because the Alex she once knew was on time for everything. A few minutes later, Piper caught a glimpse of black hair out of the corner of her eye. She looked over to see Alex standing at the bottom of the stands looking around. Green eyes met blue as both of the women gave a small smile. Alex cautiously climbed up the metal stairs until she reached the blonde.

"Hey. Sorry I'm late, I had to talk to my boss after work." Alex said as she sat down on the cold metal beside Piper.

"It's okay. Blair's been too wrapped up in the game to notice we're here."

"Good, I don't think I would be able to handle her being pissed because of me."

"You get used to it after a while. She's a teenage girl, she's going to get mad, sad, happy and everything in between all within a span of a day."

"She really is a mini you."

"No she's not! I never get moody like that."

"Oh yes you do. I remember vividly that you were so happy that we drove to that diner in Connecticut, then you were pissed because we didn't get to sit in a booth then you were in your weird in between mood for the rest of the night."

"To be fair, I was seventeen and I was starving."

"And I was eighteen and ready to kill you." Both women laughed before letting a short silence fall over them.

"You know, that was still one of my favorite dates we went on." Piper said turning her gaze to the game.

"My personal favorite was our not so romantic getaway to Maine."

"How was I supposed to know that the power was out in that area?"

"It was fun listening to you read all those books and using candles at night."

"And watching that couple across the street fight."

"Oh yeah, Emily and Sean. What did Danny used to call them?"

"The hag and the beast. He wanted to kill them every time we visited the house."

"How is Danny? You haven't mentioned him since I've been around."

"He's in rehab right now."

"Oh…I had no idea."

"Neither did we. We only found out because the hospital called and said some guy found him lying in the lobby of a hotel chocking on his own vomit. My dad made him go as soon as the hospital cleared him."

"Shit. I'm sorry Piper."

"It's not your fault, if anything it's my dad's. He put Danny in charge of a position that he had no idea how to handle, that's why he started drinking." Alex frowned when she noticed a stray tear roll down Piper's cheek and land on her skinny jeans. If it had been twenty-two years ago, she would have wrapped her arms around the blonde and reassure her. Since she couldn't do that, Alex did what she knew best and that was change the subject.

"How's Cal doing?"

"Good. He decided to move to Oregon and live in the woods. He and his girlfriend run this organic vegetable farm." Piper said cracking a smile.

"Cal, the boy who watched MTV for like fourteen hours a day when we were in high school, lives in the woods?"

"He does. If he ever wants to call anyone he has to walk a few miles to get to town."

"Wow, that's dedication."

"Carol wants him to come home. She's tired of everyone asking where he is and what he's doing."

"I'm glad to hear Carol hasn't changed much."

"She changed some when Blair was born but that's really it."

"Do Carol and Bill know that Blair is mine?"

"They do. My mom cried and told me she would never love her. My dad said he was disappointed and wanted me to get rid of her. They both changed their minds once Blair made her grand entrance though." Piper turned her head once Alex didn't say anything. The older woman sat there slowly shaking her head.

"I wish you could have seen their faces when I told the nurse 'her name is Blair Alexandra Chapman'. Their jaws were an inch away from hitting the floor." In an instant Alex's expression became more relaxed and she smiled.

"You know, it means a lot that you named her after me."

"I wanted her to have a piece of you even if she didn't know you."

Alex smiled at the blonde as her way of thanking her. Alex leaned back and extended her arms out to stretch since she didn't get a chance to after her last workout. She noticed Piper looking at her out of the corner of her eye. It gave the brunette a since of pride knowing she could still make Piper practically drool over her. The two continued to make small talk and watch the game until it came to an end. Blair's team won so all the girls gathered around happily screaming while Piper and Alex made their way down to solid ground.

"So where is this husband of yours I keep hearing about? I figured he'd be here for her first game."

"I'm not sure. He told me he would be here. He probably just got caught up at work."

"Do you think I'll get along with this guy? Does he have a thing against felons?"

"I'm not sure. I talked to him more last night and he-"

"Mom! Alex!" Blair sprinted to Piper and Alex with her bag in hand. The younger blonde quickly hugged Piper then Alex. When Blair hugged Alex, Piper felt her heart swell to her surprise.

"You did great out there, kid."

"Thanks! And thanks for coming."

"I wouldn't miss this for anything, kid." Blair pulled away from the hug before looking around.

"Where's dad? He said he would be here." The younger blonde was obviously shocked that her father wasn't there.

"I'm not sure, sweetie. I think he got caught up at work."

"So that means he probably won't be home for dinner. You know what that means." Blair and Piper looked at one another with identical smiles while Alex stared at them like an outsider.

"Not to but in or anything but what does that mean?"

"We're going to get the greasiest, greatest and all around phenomenal pizza that New York has to offer. It's what me and mom do whenever dad has to stay late at work."

"Come with us, Alex. I think you would like it."

"That's okay, I don't want to barge in on something that's your thing."

"The three of us are family, so it's your thing too." Blair said with a proud smile.

"Well then let's go get this phenomenal pizz."

The three women walked towards the parking lot where Piper instructed the driver to wait. Piper and Alex walked side by side while Blair walked a few feet in front of them. Alex wanted to make sure she didn't hear the conversation with Piper.

"So this husband of yours doesn't let you guys eat out?"

"We eat out sometimes but you know how expensive it is to eat around here."

"Are you guys struggling with money? If you are I can give _you_ money for child support. I don't make like thousands of dollars, but I can help." Piper laughed and shook her head while Alex looked at her confused.

"Personally I'm doing amazing financially, Carter is the one who isn't doing well. He's the type of guy who feels like he needs to pay whenever we go out so we try not to go out a lot."

"I'm glad he tries to pay for stuff and not put all the weight on you."

"He's a good guy, Alex."

"I'll decide for myself."

"Guys come on! I'm starving!" Blair yelled from the car. Piper rolled her eyes with a faint smile.

"Come on, she gets moody when she's hungry."

* * *

After the trio finished the pizza at the Chapman residence Alex and Blair looked through more baby pictures while Piper worked on her laptop in the bedroom.

"This was my fifth birthday party. Uncle Danny thought it would be a good idea to light three boxes of sparklers at once. He ended up catching the side of my grandparent's house of fire."

"Oh shit. How did Bill and Carol feel about that?" Alex asked while laughing.

"GC was really mad because it also burned her flowers and grandpa was ready to kill him."

"GC?"

"Grandma Carol. I call her GC because she always says 'I'm too young to be a grandmother'. She says it even though she's in her fifties."

"Yeah that sounds like Carol."

"Did you get along with her when you and mom were together?"

"Do you want me to be honest?"

"Yeah."

"We hated each other. I thought every time I walked into her house she would find a reason to beat me with something."

"Really?!"

"Mhm. Your uncles were really the only ones who liked me."

"If it's any consolation, I like you."

"Thanks, kid."

"Can I ask you a pretty personal question?"

"Of course you can."

"How did you and mom meet?"

"It's a pretty cliché story. You could watch any movie that revolves around teenagers and figure it out."

"Will you please tell me? I want to know how to two people that gave me life met."

"We met at my friend Nicky's house."

"And?"

"And that's how we met."

"Come onnnnn. I promise I won't tell mom that you told me."

"Fine I'll tell you but you have to keep it between us. If Piper finds out she'll probably kill me."

"I promise I will. Scout's honor."

"Alright, I met her the summer going into junior year. I was just getting ready to leave my friend's party when this blonde girl was pushed into me. She looked at me like I was crazy before she puked on my bran new boots."

"Mom puked on your boots?"

"No, Polly Harper puked on my boots. Piper was the one who pushed her into me."

"No way!"

"Yeah it happened. Polly was so drunk she could barely walk. Piper apologized like twenty times by the time we got Polly in her car. After that we started dating but pretended like we hated each other."

"What?! Why would you do that?!"

"Because we were dumb teenagers. My friends would never let me live if they found out I was dating a cheerleader and her friends would have kicked her out of their group for dating whatever group I was in. Plus, your grandmother probably would have sent Piper to a reform school if she found out we were dating."

"Wow, that was a little cliché."

"I told you kid."

"What did you tell her?" Piper asked as she walked into the living room. Her hair was tied back and she was wearing an oversize shirt that made it look like she didn't have pants. The thought made Alex smirk, Piper hated wearing pants when they were together.

"Just bad movie plots."

"You do watch a lot of bad movies, Alex. I mean…I don't know if you still do…"

"No I still do. Nicky and I still have the occasional movie nights."

"I bet those are great. Three hours worth of black and white movies with terrible sound quality." Piper and Alex laugh while Blair rolled her eyes.

"You guys and you're weird movies. I'm going to head to bed for the night. Goodnight."

"Goodnight sweetheart."

"Night kid."

Blair smiled at her mother's as she walked back to her bedroom. Before her bedroom door even closed, Piper collapsed on the couch beside Alex. The blonde crossed her ankles on the edge of the coffee table. The position the blonde was sat in raised the side on her shirt allowing Alex to catch a glimpse of the blonde's thigh. She was surprised to see Piper was wearing a pair of running shorts underneath the oversized shirt.

"Thanks for hanging out with us tonight. It was fun."

"I had a good time. It beat cleaning up the gym or listening to Lorna try and teach Tony Italian."

"Lorna is Nicky's wife, right?"

"Right."

"I can't believe she got married. She seemed like the ultimate party girl to me."

"That's how I felt too. It was a nice wedding from the picture's I've seen."

"You weren't-never mind."

"Yeah I was in prison."

"I'm sorry again, for everything…."

"You can't change the past, Piper."

"I know but if I could go back in time I would change everything."

"Even dumping me?" It was purely meant as a joke but Piper's answer was deathly serious.

"Yes."

"Wha-" Alex was cut off by the elevator doors opening and a tall man stepping into the penthouse.

"You won't believe the day I had. Did you cook dinner?" The man walked straight to the kitchen without even turning his head towards Piper and Alex.

"No, we got pizza. Alex, this is my husband." The man turned around with a beer in hand. His tired expression quickly turned to a pissed off expression when he realized who Alex was.

"Alex…right."

"It's Carson, right?"

"It's _Carter_."

"Right sorry. It's nice to meet you." Alex pulled out the realist fake smile she had. Carter gave an awkward smirk before joining the women in the living room. He sat down in the recliner and drank his beer. Alex adjusted her position so she sat up tall and looked more threatening.

"So you're a cop?"

"Yes. So you're a felon?"

"Ex-felon. I work at a gym in Brooklyn now."

"I heard working in a gym doesn't pay that much. Do you make enough to support a kid?"

"I make enough to afford to eat out more than once a month." The brunette knew right away she shouldn't have taken such a hard jab but it was inevitable with guys like Carter. Carter's jaw visibly clenched as he glared at Alex.

"It's getting pretty late and I have to go in early tomorrow, you know keeping _your_ kind off the streets."

"Carter!"

"If you ever met anyone else like me, you would run away crying. But, I should get going. I have a busy day tomorrow." Alex stood up and took one step before she felt Piper's hand grab her arm.

"I'll walk you out."

"You stay here, Piper. I'll walk her down." Carter placed his empty beer can on the coffee table and walked toward the elevator.

"If he says or does anything threatening let me know, okay?"

"Don't stress, Pipes."

Alex and Carter stepped into the elevator. The only communication was Carter's annoying mouth breathing.

"I don't like you at all." Carter finally said. He continued to stare at the metal door.

"You don't even know me."

"I know you went to prison for seventeen years because of drugs and that's all I need to know. I don't want you around _my_ kid either." Alex turned to face Carter with clenched fists.

"Blair is _mine_ and _Piper's_ kid."

"As far as I'm concerned, you're nothing but a donor. You shouldn't even be a part of her life."

"I shouldn't be a part of her life? You're the one who just burst in one day and decided you wanted to play the dad role. She's my kid, end of story."

"Listen." Carter faced Alex and was visibly trying to look intimidating.

"I'm letting you come into _my_ house and see _my_ daughter. You're going to show me respect or you won't see Blair. Got it?" As he finished the elevator doors opened to the lobby. Alex glared at Carter before stepping out of the elevator and raising her middle finger as she walked away.

Instead of doing the smart thing and catching a cab home, Alex did the wrong thing. She grabbed her phone and pulled up a familiar contact.

"Alex? It's almost midnight, why are you calling me?"

"I'm outside your building. Mind if I stop in?"

"Are you planning on staying the night?"

"I don't plan on sleeping tonight."

"So romantic. Come on up, I'm in my room."

"See you in a few."

The next morning Alex woke up in a slightly familiar bed. Anna's head was lying on her chest and her thin arms wrapped around Alex's torso. Suddenly a faint buzzing beside Alex's head filled the room. The brunette reached for her phone that was lying on the nightstand beside her. Alex did her best to focus on the screen without her glasses. When she was finally able to read the text, Alex's heart dropped.

 **Nicky: Mamma Vause is standing in my living room and she is fuming. You need to get your ass home**

"Fuck me."

"Mhmm maybe later. I'm tired." Anna mumbled. Alex groaned as she allowed her head to fall back onto the pillow.

 **Hey guys! Thank you so much for reading yet another chapter. I want to apologize for any spelling errors, I've been writing this off and on for a few days now. Anyway, leave a review if you want and let me know what you thought.**

 **Little side note: I recently started Game of Thrones (I know I'm late to the party) and it's _so_ good**


	4. Chapter 4

"That bastard! How could he do this? Why would he do this?!" Diane screeched while angrily pacing back and forth. Alex had been home for half an hour and Diane hadn't stopped pacing since she arrived.

"Mom, you need to calm down and tell me what happened."

"Your sorry excuse for a father is what happened! That bastard-If he had a car I would set it on fire."

"This is about Lee? Mom, you have to ignore him whenever he calls."

"Oh no he didn't call this time. You want to know what he did?"

"Yes. That's why I've been sitting here watching you pace back and forth."

"He sent me five thousand dollars."

"Five thousand dollars? From the laziest drunk in the world?"

"Yes. He sent it with a letter saying how sorry he was for leaving us, how bad he feels. The same old Lee apology bullshit."

"Well, are you going to keep the money?"

"Of course I'm going to keep it. Maybe now I can take a few days off." Diane finally stopped pacing and settled on the middle of the living room. When the older Vause stopped she noticed the look on her daughter's face.

"Alex, is everything okay?"

"Yes and no." Diane gave Alex a concerned look before joining her on the couch.

"You can tell me anything, kid."

"You have to promise not to interrupt me when I tell you."

"Scout's honor." Alex squirmed in her seat while trying to find an object to stare at so she wouldn't have to watch her mother's reaction.

"I have a kid-well a teenager. So that means you have a granddaughter, her name is Blair." Alex spat out. After a few moments of silence, Alex turned her head to look at her mother. Diane was looking at her daughter with a confused look.

"What?"

"Back before I got arrested…Piper and I tried to have a baby."

"Whoa, whoa, hold on. Piper as in blonde Piper?"

"Yes…I know you don't really like her anymore but-"

"Don't like is an understatement, I fucking hate that whore!"

"I understand where you're coming from but people change. I never thought I would forgive Piper but I did. I spent most of last night talking with her."

"For the love of god, Alex. There really is no reason for you to talk to her."

"I want to have a good relationship with her so I can see Blair." Alex heard her mother sigh, most likely in disappointment. The two Vause woman sat in silence until Diane finally spoke.

"I was so excited to have a daughter specifically because I would never have to worry about an unknown grandchild popping up. I never thought anything like this would happen."

"I'm sorry mom. I had no idea."

"All that matters is you're a good mother to that girl. If you end up like your father I'll kick your ass."

"I promise I'll be nothing like Lee. I see Blair as much as I can, I go to her field hockey games and I help her with homework if she needs it."

"I'm glad to hear that, Alex. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks mom. So, when do you want to meet Blair?" Alex immediately recognized the unconfutable look that formed on Diane's face.

"Now isn't the best time. I have so much going on between the diner's and now Lee. Maybe some other time." That made Alex feel disappointed almost immediately. She figured her mother would have wanted to have everything to do with Blair.

"Oh…okay. I understand, you're busy running your diners and everything."

"Alexandra, look at me." Before Alex got the chance to voluntarily move her head, Diane gently grabbed her daughter's cheeks and forced Alex to look at her.

"I'm sure Blair is a very sweet girl and I'll love her as soon as I meet her. But Alex, right now just isn't a good time to introduce her into my life. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand."

"Maybe you could bring her over for Thanksgiving?"

"I'd have to ask Piper what they're doing first."

"Of course you'd have to ask _Piper_." Diane rolled her eyes in a playful way.

"She's Blair's mom too."

"Out of all the girls on the east coast, out of the country, you had to pick her."

"You liked her in high school."

"That was before all of this happened. Next time you see Piper let her know I'm going to give her a piece of my mind when I see her."

"I'm not telling her that."

"Either you do it or I'll just skip to what I really think about her."

"Okay, I'll tell her."

"That's my girl."

* * *

"Thank you and have a nice day." Piper said in her overly nice tone as she handed the woman her receipt. Normally on Saturdays the blonde couldn't be bothered with work but one of the store employees called in sick and Polly couldn't handle the store by herself.

"We're officially out of the peach mango scrub." Polly announced while throwing an empty box behind the counter.

"I'll put in a new order when I go to the office Monday."

"Thanks. I would make more but things are crazy at home. Pete decided he wants Finn to help him restore his old motorcycle and those two have almost caught the garage on fire twice."

"I know how you feel, life has been crazy at home too."

"Oh yeah? Is Carter trying to build another bookcase?"

"Surprisingly no, it's-it's something I can't tell you."

"Something you can't tell me? Piper, we've been friends since grade school, you can tell me anything."

"You'll kill me."

"Try me."

"Blair knows about Alex."

"Oh my God! How?!" Polly screamed alerting a few customers walking around. Piper pulled her friend towards the stock room to avoid more looks.

"Blair looked through my old photo albums. She put two and two together and now Alex is back in my life."

"Piper no! After what she put you through before and after you got pregnant, how could you let her back in?"

"Blair wants her around and I want Blair to be happy."

"She was happy before she knew supercunt."

"This is a different kind of happy, Pol."

"Whatever you say. Don't come crying to me when this blows up in your face." The store's bell rang signaling another customer walked in. Polly gave Piper her 'you know I'm right' smirk before going to help the short man who walked in. Piper was about to make her rounds with the other customers when a police car pulled up with flashing lights. Piper quickly ran outside to see what the problem was. Carter immediately stepped out of the passenger side, his hand was on his gun.

"What are you doing here?" Piper asked a little alarmed by her husband ready to shoot someone.

"We have to clear the area. A suspect escaped from the station and we need to find him before he seriously hurts someone. You and Polly need to go home before they block off our house. I'll take care of everyone in the store."

"Oh my God. Please be careful."

"I will. Make sure you call Blair and tell her."

"I will."

Piper and Carter went into PoPi and informed the customers of what was going on. Everyone practically sprinted out onto the streets. Polly made Piper promise to call her as soon as Carter gave her any information. The women said a quick "goodbye" before driving home. Once Piper was home she handed her keys to the valet before calling Blair.

"Hey mom, what's up?"

"Are you going to be done with practice soon? The police are closing off most of the streets to catch a guy that escaped from the police station."

"Coach said we won't be done until noon."

"Is there any way she would let you come home early? I don't want you outside with this guy running around."

"It's unlikely, you know how Coach is once we win."

"Is there anyone you could stay with incase this takes a while?"

"Yeah, I have a few friends I could hang out with."

"Okay. Let me know when you're done and who you're staying with."

"I will, mom. Love you."

"Love you too, Blair."

* * *

"Come on, I want you to count too. Ten, eleven…"

"Twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen…"

"Come on, five more. You can do it." Alex watched as her slightly chubby client continued doing jumping jacks.

"Twenty!" The slightly chubby man yelled when he finished.

"Good work, Mr. Jackson. Your times are much better than last time."

"Thank you. You're the reason why I'm doing so well." He said breathing hard.

"It's all you. I'm just the one who tells you what to do. Do you want to schedule another workout for next week, same time and day?"

"Yes I do."

"Great, I'll take care of it and we'll see you then."

Alex walked over to the front desk and wrote down all of Mr. Jackson's information. While writing the familiar ring of the front door opening hit Alex's ears. She looked up to see Blair standing a few feet away from the desk. She was wearing a gray shirt with the sleeves torn off, black running shorts and her hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail.

"Hey kid. Didn't think I'd see you today."

"Hey. I just finished up at practice and thought I'd stop by to see you."

"That was nice of you. How'd practice go?"

"It was _so_ boring. Coach made us run pretty much the entire time."

"If it makes you feel better I made a guy run for half an hour then made him do half an hour of boxing."

"Was he sweating a lot?"

"He looked like he stood out in the pouring rain."

"Then yeah, that makes me feel better." Both women chuckled before letting silence fall over them. Alex was expecting for Blair to leave and run home to Piper, instead the blonde just stood in front of her mother.

"Can I hang out with you for the rest of the day?" Blair timidly crossed her arms and made slight eye contact with Alex. The brunette was a little surprised that Blair wanted to hang out in a sweaty gym all day.

"Of course you can. You don't mind the smell of sweat and disinfectant, do you?"

"No?"

"Great because I have to go clean the weights. Wanna help your mother out?"

"Sure." Blair smiled from ear to ear, she was happy to spend time with Alex no matter what they were doing.

Alex smiled and grabbed a spray bottle containing a bright yellow liquid along with two towels. She tossed one over the counter to Blair before making her way over to the weights. They had just started to clean the weights when Blair stared hard at Alex. After a few moments, the brunette turned her head and raised an eyebrow.

"Why are you looking at me like that, kid?"

"I heard you and dad arguing last night." Blair turned towards the weights and slowly wiped them. Alex frowned, she had pretty much forgotten about the fight with Carter.

"I'm sorry you heard that. We obviously weren't acting like adults."

"My dad isn't a bad guy. I know it seems like he would be a huge jerk but he's really nice. Once he gets to know you, you guys will get along better." Blair continued to clean while Alex watched her. Alex felt bad because she knew Carter would never like her and vice versa.

"Sometimes people just don't get along…"

"I know, I just want us to be a weird happy family."

"As long as I have you I'm happy, kid." Alex watched as her daughter looked in her direction and smiled.

 _That goddamned Piper Chapman smile_ The brunette thought shaking her head.

"How's Piper doing? She seemed a little tense when I left last night."

"She's good. She was heading to PoPi when I left for practice this morning."

"She owns that with…Polly? Right?"

"Aunt Polly yeah."

"I never thought they would get that off the ground. I guess I was wrong."

"Mom said you two fought over it a lot before I was born."

"Things were complicated before you were born. I didn't think it was a good idea for her to put all her time and effort into a business that might have gone under, especially since we were trying to make you."

"It's a good thing PoPi didn't go under. If it did, I don't think my childhood would have been nearly as awesome. That reminds me, you still need to come over and finish looking through my birthday party photo album. Once you get through that we can move into Christmas then end on school pictures."

"I'd love to finish them. I'll stop by on my first day off, okay?"

"When is your next day off?"

"Next Saturday."

"So you can't make it to my game on Thursday?"

"Probably not, sorry kid."

"It's okay, I understand. Do you guys have a bathroom here?"

"Yeah it's right over there."

Alex pointed towards the women's locker room. Blair walked away from the weights leaving her mother to finish the job. Once all the weights were cleaned, the brunette made her way into the office so she could put away a few client files.

"Hey stranger." A familiar voice announced from the doorway. Alex looked up from the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet to see Anna leaning against the doorframe. She was wearing a very tight black shirt and a pair of very tight jeans. Alex felt her heart pound against her chest. Blair was a few feet away in the bathroom while her friend with benefits stood in front of her looking hot as hell.

"Hey Anna, what are you doing here?" Alex quickly stood up and readjusted her glasses.

"I thought I'd drop by and see my favorite trainer, since you so rudely left me this morning."

"Sorry about that again. Family emergency."

"Did it have anything to do with Piper Chapman?" Anna smirked as she watched shock spread across Alex's face.

"How did you know?"

"I have friends on every floor, they tell me every time they see you in the building."

"Oh…that's not creepy at all."

"So why are you at Piper's apartment all the time? Are you two having an affair?"

"No we're not having an affair. Piper and I knew each other in high school and we decided to reconnect."

"Oh yeah? Is that why you got into a fight with her husband before you came to my apartment?" Anna crossed her arms over her chest while raising an eyebrow. Alex felt her heart pound hard against her chest as she tried to come up with a good lie.

"Carter doesn't like me because I was in prison, I don't like him because he's an asshole."

"Fair enough. He seems like a dick." Anna strutted over to Alex and wrapped her arms around the brunette's neck. Alex desperately wanted to pull away in case a client or Blair walked in.

"Anna, not now."

"Come on, just one kiss before I go." Anna pouted in an attempt to be cute, it reminded Alex of the days when Piper would pout to get her way.

"Fine, one kiss then you have to get out of here."

Anna excitedly crashed her lips against Alex's. Alex had every intention of pulling away but Anna had a way of pulling her in. With her eyes closed and head spinning, there was no way Alex could have known Blair was looking at them through the office window. As the women pulled away, Blair ducked behind the wall so her mother couldn't see her. A few moments later the woman walked out of the office swaying her hips. Blair had only ever seen pictures of Piper and Alex kissing so seeing Alex kiss a woman who wasn't Piper made her blood boil and her stomach hurt. When Alex walked out of the office she noticed Blair's intense look.

"Blair, are you okay?"

"Y-yeah I'm okay. I'm about to uh…head home."

"Why? You said you wanted to hang out for the rest of the day."

"I forgot I have this huge project and it's due on Monday and I haven't even started it. I'll text you later, okay?"

"Okay. Blair did you-"

"Bye Alex."

Blair quickly ran out of the gym, almost knocking over a man walking into the gym. Alex wanted to run after her daughter but the man who walked in was her next client. "Hey Alex, what do you have planned for me?" The man asked with a huge smile. "Start stretching then we'll start working out."

* * *

Piper was lying on the couch texting Polly when she heard the front door open. She turned her head just to catch Blair walking to the kitchen. The blonde was more than happy to see her daughter safe and sound after everything Carter told her.

"Hey sweetheart. I didn't know you would be home so soon." Piper stood up to approach the kitchen.

"Yeah, I know." Blair almost whispered as she sat down at the bar with a bottle of water. Piper easily picked up on her daughters strange domineer.

"Is everything okay, Blair?"

"Yeah everything is fine. I'm just tired is all."

"Blair, I know something is going on. You're never this quiet."

"It's nothing, mom."

"Blair Alexandra Chapman, what is wrong?" Blair exhaled loudly and looked at her mother.

"I saw Alex kiss this woman today."

"What?" Piper managed to ask. She was trying hard not to let her emotions show.

"I decided to go to the gym and hang out with Alex instead of a friend. I went to the bathroom and when I came out I saw her kissing this woman in her office."

"Oh, did that make you upset?"

"Kind of. I've only ever seen her kiss you in your photo album."

"Did you talk to Alex after you saw them?"

"No, I ran back out to the car and came straight home."

"You should sit down and talk to her about it."

"I don't want to, it's stupid and I'll get over it." Blair stood up and ran to her room leaving Piper a little shocked. The blonde knew her daughter wasn't in the mood to talk and trying to get a Vause to talk when they weren't in the mood was like talking to a wall. Piper pulled out her phone and decided to ask Alex about the situation. The phone rang three times before Alex finally answered.

"Hey, I was just about to call you." Alex said while breathing heavily.

"Are you okay? You sound like you just ran a marathon."

"I'm okay. I just got done working out with my last client. So, why'd you call?"

"Blair just got home. She told me she saw something that upset her."

"Shit. I'm sorry I didn't mean for her to see that."

"It's okay Alex. You're allowed to date women."

"I know but I feel bad. Anna wasn't supposed to come in today and we started talking and she wanted a kiss before she left and…and it just got out of hand and I could tell Blair was upset and-"

"Al, take a breath before you pass out." Piper waited to hear Alex take a breath before talking again.

"I've already talked to Blair and she is upset but she said she'll be okay. I think this was just something that shocked her and she'll be okay in a few days."

"You really think so?"

"I've known her for seventeen years, I really think she'll be okay in a few days."

"Okay, thanks Piper."

"You're welcome. Before I let you go can we talk about this girlfriend of yours?"

"She's not my girlfriend."

"Okay but whatever she is, can I meet her before you introduce her to Blair? I want to know the person my daughter is going to be around."

"I don't think you'll have to worry about that. I can't see Anna as a permanent installment in my life."

"Oh…okay. If you change your mind will you let me know."

"If I change my mind I will let you know, Piper."

"Thank you Alex."

"You're welcome Piper. I'm sure we'll talk later."

"Yeah we will, bye."

Piper hung up and slid her phone back into her pocket. The blonde made her way back to the bedroom to dig through the photo albums. Hearing Blair talk about the picture of Alex kissing her, made Piper want to take a walk down memory lane. After flipping through a few pages Piper found one of the many photos of Alex kissing Piper's cheek. The date on the picture was October 7th, just a week before Alex got arrested.

* * *

 _"Mwah." Alex said as she pulled away from Piper's cheek. They were lying on their bed watching TV when Alex decided it would be a good time to take a picture._

" _I probably look horrible in that picture." Piper groaned lying back against the bedframe._

" _I bet you look beautiful as always."_

" _Oh stop it you schmoozer."_

" _You are beautiful. My beautiful baby momma." Alex kissed the exposed skin of Piper's stomach with a smile on her lips._

" _We don't know that I'm pregnant yet. The doctor said wait another week before I take the test."_

" _You seriously don't think you're pregnant? Pipes you've been sick every morning and you're late."_

" _I know but it could be because of the medicines I had to take."_

" _I think it's because you have a little Vause inside of you." Alex planted a few more kisses on her girlfriend's stomach until Piper was giggling hysterically. When Alex stopped the two lazily smiled at one another until Piper's smile turned into a frown._

" _What's wrong Pipes?"_

" _If I am pregnant we're going to have to buy a lot of stuff."_

" _And?"_

" _You're okay with buying our baby's crib, diapers, toys and clothes with drug money?"_

" _I'm not thrilled about it but that's just the way it is."_

" _I want you to quit selling, Alex."_

" _I know you do, Pipes. It's not that easy to just quit the cartel."_

" _Well it won't be easy to see our baby when you're in prison for thirty years." Piper watched Alex's expression fall and felt bad._

" _Alex-"_

" _No you're right. I'll talk to Rico tomorrow about quitting."_

" _Thank you, Alex."_

" _Anything for you two." Alex bent down and kissed Piper's stomach again before catching the blonde's lips in a loving kiss. Alex pulled away just enough so she could talk._

" _I love you, Piper."_

" _I love you too, Alex."_

* * *

Piper tried hard to hold back her tears as she continued to look at the picture. "I'm so sorry." She whispered as two stray tears landed on the picture.

 **Hey everyone! I know it's been a while and I am very sorry. College is taking up a lot of my time but I still try and make time for writing. Thank you all so so so much for continuing to read this fic. Please review and let me know what you think. Until next time guys!**


	5. Chapter 5

After a day filled with running, boxing and countless weight lifting exercises, Alex finally arrived home from work. Immediately the sound of Tony giggling filled her ears as the brunette walked into the living room. Tony was sitting on his play matt, clanking two obnoxiously loud toys together. "Hey Tony." The six-month-old turned his head and smiled when he saw Alex. The brunette carefully picked up her godson and flatted his wild black hair.

"Oh Alex you're home!" Lorna ran out from the kitchen wearing an apron with red stains on it.

"Yeah I just walked in the door. What's the red stuff on your apron?"

"It's just tomato sauce. We're having spaghetti tonight, is that okay with you?"

"I'm more than fine with anything you make, Lorna."

"Thank you, Alex. Nicky needs to take a few manner lessons from you. Would you mind putting Tony down for his nap while I finish up in here?"

"Not at all."

"Thank you, Alex."

"It's no problem, Lorna."

Alex carried Tony up the stairs and into his room. She changed him into a onesie before lying Tony down in his crib. "Alright little man, sleep tight. I'll see you at dinner time." Alex whispered before stepping out into the hall and carefully closing the door. The brunette made her way back downstairs to see if Lorna needed any help. Alex made it to the bottom of the staircase when she noticed the front door was wide open and Nicky was just standing there.

"Nick, wha-"

"Shhhh! Get out here." Nicky mouthed while motioning for Alex to come outside. Alex walked outside and closed the front door behind her.

"What are you doing, Nicky?"

"Get in the car."

"Why?"

"Just do what I say, okay?"

"Alright."

Alex and Nicky walked down the path that lead from the street to the house. The two women got inside Nicky's ancient town car before the wild haired woman sped down the street. Alex watched as they exited their little neighborhood and made it into the city. After a while Nicky parked in a vacant parking lot nestled behind two buildings.

"Alright Nicky, what the hell are we doing here?"

"To meet him." Nicky nodded towards a man in a blue hoodie and tight fitted jeans walking towards the car.

"Who the hell is that?"

"You'll see when he gets in." Alex felt her heart start racing, she wasn't comfortable with some guy she didn't know getting in the car. Before she knew it the man was in the backseat and taking off his hood. When the brunette turned around she saw the familiar mustached face she hadn't seen in years.

"Holy shit! Fahri!"

"Hey Vause, long time no see." The two hugged as best they could before just starring at one another. Fahri had changed so much in the last seventeen years. His once solid black hair was riddled with specks of gray now and he had a few more wrinkles.

"Shit you got old, Fahri."

"Yeah prison will do that to you."

"So how did you guys find each other?" Alex asked looking between Nicky and Fahri.

"I found out where Nichols worked and showed up. You two living together saved me hours of searching for you, Vause."

"And why did you want to find us?" Nicky and Fahri shared a knowing glance before looking at Alex.

"I want to start selling but not turn things into a cartel. You and Nicky are loyal so I wouldn't have to worry about anything. What do you say, Vause?" Alex looked between Nicky and Fahri again this time with a shocked look.

"You're joking right? I'm not going back to prison."

"We'll be careful. We won't make any of the mistakes Kubra made."

"Fahri I can't, I have way too much to lose now and so does Nicky."

"What do you two have to lose? Nicky already said she was down."

"Seriously Nicky? You would risk Tony and Lorna just for drug money?"

"It's easy money."

"Jesus Christ…" Alex unbuckled her seatbelt and quickly got out of the car.

"Alex, where are you going?" Nicky yelled as the brunette walked towards the sidewalk.

"Away from you two!" Alex yelled as she walked faster.

Alex walked for what felt like hours, thanks to her shorts and flimsy jacket against the October breeze, until her phone rang. She quickly pulled it out and saw Piper's name at the top of the screen. She didn't know why the blonde would be calling her so late in the afternoon considering she would still be at the office or doing something else.

"Hello?"

"Thank God you answered. Meet me at the hospital on the corner of 100 and 77th street."

"What? Why are you at the hospital?"

"It's Blair, I'll explain when you get here. Please hurry."

"Okay, okay, I'll be there as soon as I can."

The hospital Piper told her to meet her at was a solid ten minute walk. By how nervous Piper sounded, Alex knew ten minutes would be too long. The brunette was thankful she was wearing her running shorts, it would make the run a little more bearable.

* * *

Piper sat anxiously in the waiting area of the emergency room. Not only was she worried about Blair, but she had called almost five minutes ago and she still wasn't there. Suddenly the automatic doors opened and a group of nurses and EMTs ran in pushing someone on a stretcher. Once the group ran back to the emergency room, Alex appeared looking extremely sweaty and tired.

"Alex." Piper shot out of her seat to greet Alex.

"Piper, what happened? Why is Blair here? Is she okay?"

"Take a breath before they have to put you on oxygen." Piper gently held her ex-girlfriend's arm and lead her over to the waiting area.

"So what happened?" Alex repeated as she sat down.

"It happened during her lacrosse game. Blair was running down the field when she caught the ball. Some girl was trying to grab it before Blair got it and she ended up tripping and practically tackling our daughter. Blair said her ankle was in a lot of pain, the doctors are with her now."

"Oh my God…I hope she's okay."

"I do too. I called Carter and told him what happened. He would be here but there was a robbery that he needed to check out." Alex was about to say something incredibly insulting when a man in blue scrubs and a white lab coat walked over.

"Mrs. Chapman?"

"Yes that's me." Piper quickly said as she stood up.

"Your daughter has a sprained ankle. It's a pretty severe sprain, I want her off of it so she will have crutches. I'm also prescribing her some mild painkillers that you can pick up from the pharmacy on the other side of the hospital."

"When will she be able to play again?"

"Not until next season I'm afraid. Sprained ankles can easily turn into broken ones."

"Okay, thank you. Can we see her?"

"Yes you can if you'll follow me. A nurse will see you shortly with discharge papers." The doctor informed as he walked Piper and Alex back to the ER. He pulled back the curtain to reveal Blair sitting on the edge of the hospital bed with her left ankle wrapped up.

"How are you feeling sweetheart?" Piper asked as she wrapped her arms around Blair.

"I'm alright, my ankle just hurts."

"When you get home elevate it and put a lot of ice on it." Alex said looking at her daughter. Alex wasn't sure if she and Blair were on good terms since the whole Anna thing and they hadn't seen each other in two weeks. The brunette felt a little relief when Blair smiled at her.

"Alex, do you think you could come over? I've never had to deal with something like this and you have." Piper asked with her big doe eyes that she knew Alex couldn't resist.

"Uh…yeah I can."

"Here are her discharge papers. Take them to the front desk when you're finished." A male nurse handed the papers to Alex before running out of sight.

Piper managed to fill out the discharge papers in under ten minutes. A nurse had to wheel Blair out of the hospital in a wheel chair, much to the blonde's dismay. The ride back home was entertaining to say the least. Blair gave a play by play of getting her ankle sprained with great enthusiasm. When they reached the building things got much harder for the women. Blair had never used crutches before so she really struggled making it to the elevator.

"How do people make using these things so easy?" Blair asked as she plopped down on the couch.

"Most people are more coordinated than you, sweetheart." Piper yelled from the kitchen while getting Blair a bag of ice.

"I am plenty coordinated! You believe me right, Alex?"

"From what I've seen on the field, you are very coordinated."

"See mom, Alex knows I'm coordinated."

"Whatever you say, Blair." Piper carefully placed a bag of ice on her daughter's ankle. Blair winched making Piper and Alex feel awful.

"Are you okay?" Alex asked.

"I'm okay, it just hurts a little. I think some pizza and movies may help."

"Oh really? Alex, do you think pizza and movies will help?"

"I mean, they certainly helped when I sprained my ankle."

"Then I guess that's what we have to do. Can you two pick some movies while I order the pizza?"

"I think Alex and I can handle it." Blair proudly said.

Piper rolled her eyes and went into the kitchen to order the pizza. Blair insisted that Alex dig through the movie cabinet and find _Casablanca_ and _Almost Famous_. "This is going to be a long night." The brunette mumbled.

* * *

Halfway through _Almost Famous_ Blair was out cold. Since Blair was taking up all of the couch Piper and Alex were forced to sit on the loveseat. "She's out like a light. It must be the painkillers." The blonde whispered. "Yeah. I can carry her to bed so she doesn't have to awkwardly hobble down the hall." The brunette got up and knelt down beside her sleeping daughter. "Blair, Blair wake up." Alex said loudly to no avail. Alex turned to Piper for some guidance. "Just pick her up, I'll open the bedroom door." The blonde ran down the hall while Alex prepared to carry her daughter for the first time. Alex carefully slid one arm under Blair's knees while the other was underneath her back. As gently as she could, Alex lifted Blair up and carried her to the room.

Piper leaned against the wall and watched Alex carry their daughter. She felt her heart swell seeing them together in such a cute way. Piper could remember carrying Blair upstairs almost every Friday night when they lived with Bill and Carol. Seeing Alex take care of Blair only made Piper's buried feelings for Alex come up even more. The blonde watched her ex-girlfriend gently lay Blair down and attempt to tuck her in. "She's going to sleep well tonight." Alex whispered as she closed the bedroom door. The brunette smiled at the blonde but noticed the strange look in the blonde's eyes. "Piper, are you-" Without warning Piper smashed her lips against Alex's.

A million and one things ran through Alex's mind. _'I shouldn't be kissing her. She's married. God I still love her. Why the fuck do I still love her?'_ There was a slight ping of guilt in Alex's stomach but she mostly felt amazing about kissing the love of her life. When Piper pulled away they were both breathing hard. Piper kept her forehead pressed against Alex's as she tried to catch her breath.

"That was…amazing." The blonde whispered.

"Yeah it was…"

"I missed you so much Alex." The blonde wrapped her arms around Alex's neck. In response Alex rested her arm on Piper's lower back.

"I-I missed you too Piper." The two women looked into one another's eyes until Piper caught Alex's lips in another kiss. The second kiss was more heated resulting in the couple stumbling towards the living room.

"Pipes…we should stop." Alex said trying to catch her breath.

"Why? Don't you want this?"

"Of course I want this but what if your dickhead husband comes home? He has a gun and I'm sure he's not afraid to use it on me."

"Carter won't be home until eight in the morning. He offered to take his friend's shift. Does that make you feel better?"

"A lot better."

Alex and Piper briefly stopped their make out session until they reached the bedroom. Piper locked the door before climbing on her king size bed. Alex stood by the edge of the bed and watched Piper shimmy over on her knees. The blonde kissed the brunette's neck while unzipping her jacket. Once Alex's jacket was on the ground she climbed on the bed with Piper.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Alex asked fidgeting with the bottom of Piper's shirt.

"I want this more than anything." Piper said before removing her shirt and throwing it in front of the locked bedroom door.

"Wow…" Piper said, chest heaving. "Holy shit…that was amazing." Alex said with a smug look. They were both lying on their backs, trying to make sense of what just happened.

"Should I leave?" Alex turned her head to face Piper who was now lying on her side.

"No, stay here with me."

"Should I at least move to the couch incase Blair wakes up and comes in here?"

"You saw the way she was hobbling, we'll hear her before she makes it to the living room." Both women smiled and laughed at the thought.

"Should we talk about us?"

"We can tomorrow, right now I just want us to lay here or…do other things."

"Other things?" Alex raised her eye brows in a dramatic way.

The blonde didn't say anything and crawled on top of Alex. They're faces were inches apart and both were smiling like lovestruck teenagers. Alex leaned up and softly pressed her lips against Pipers.

* * *

The next morning Alex woke up in an empty bed. The sun was poring through the curtains and hitting the brunette in the face forcing her to turn her head. Her eyes landed on the alarm clock that read seven a.m. Alex remembered Carter was supposed to be home at eight so she quickly gathered her clothes. When Alex walked out into the living room she was met by Piper leaning against the breakfast bar, her blonde hair was pulled up in a messy bun and she was wearing an oversized Yale t-shirt.

"Good morning." Piper said taking a sip of her coffee.

"Good morning." Alex walked over to the blonde and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"I had fun last night." Piper said stepping closer to Alex.

"I had fun too."

"We should talk about this."

"We should but we should do it when our daughter isn't in the next room."

"You're right. When did you get so smart?"

"Probably my third year in prison."

"Smart ass."

"You love it." Alex smirked as Piper flashed a playful glare.

"I do love it." Piper gave in and kissed the brunette.

"Mom?" Blair called out, both women jumped away from one another.

"I better go check on her." Piper said looking over her shoulder towards Blair's room.

"I can do it."

"No you can't. You left last night around eleven." The blonde said winking.

"Oh, alright. Well I will text you later."

"I'll be waiting." The blonde kissed the brunette's cheek before going into Blair's room.

Alex quickly made her way out of the pent house so she could leave the building. The last thing she wanted was running into anyone she knew after doing the slight walk of shame. After a long journey home, Alex walked through the front door and was met with loud screams.

"Don't you dare bring drugs into this house Nicole Nichols!"

"I'm not going to bring drugs into this house! I'm going to bring drug money in!" Normally Alex would try to intervene, but frankly she was just too tired to give a shit about the hole Nicky dug herself into. After silently climbing the stairs, the brunette took her jacket off and collapsed into her bed with Piper Chapman on her mind.

 **Look at that, it's been a week sense I last updated! I have midterms coming up and unfortunately have to dedicate ALL my time to studying hence why I wanted to give you guys a satisfying a chapter to keep rereading. Thank you so much for reading and please review to let me know what you think!**

 **side note: Do you guys watch Riverdale? I watched all of the first season and honestly (unpopular opinion): I hate Jughead and Betty deserves better. Anyway thanks again for reading and I will see you guys next time!**


	6. Chapter 6

"Piper Chapman?" Piper snapped her head up from between her knees. There was a tall skinny man in scrubs standing just outside the waiting area. "I'm Piper Chapman." The blonde quickly stood up, grabbing her purse and jacket. "Your husband just woke up from surgery. I can take you back to him." The nurse turned away and walked down a long hallway with Piper trailing a few feet behind. She couldn't bring herself to look up out of fear she would make eye contact with someone and burst into tears. The nurse finally stopped and stood beside a closed door. "He's in there. The doctor will be stopping by soon to check on him." Piper nodded at the nurse before cautiously stepping into the room.

There, lying in the hospital bed was her husband. Carter had gauze wrapped around his forehead, cuts all over his face and huge gauze wrapped around his abdomen. He looked so helpless and that was not Carter at all. "Hey pretty lady. Come here to take care of me?" Piper let out a weak smile as she walked over to her husband's bedside.

"You scared the shit out of me."

"I'm sorry for scaring you. It wasn't my fault that guy ran the stop light." Carter flashed a weak smile an older woman walked in the room.

"Mr. Anderson, how are you feeling?" The older woman asked as she brushed back her gray hair.

"I'm feeling good as new, Doc."

"Good, you had us scared for a little while. Stopping internal bleeding is no easy task, that is why we're keeping you here for four days."

"Four days is a long time, Doc. I have a job to do, plus my wife and a daughter to take care of."

"We'll be fine, Carter." Piper quickly intervened.

"Mrs. Anderson, could you give us a moment alone?" The doctor asked in an almost demanding tone.

"It's actually Mrs. Chapman but yes I can." Piper stepped out into the hall and heard the room door close immediately behind her. Piper pulled out her phone to call Blair when a nurse stopped her.

"Miss, you can't use a phone in this wing. You can go in the waiting room to make your call." A short woman said and she pointed down the hall.

"Okay, thank you." The blonde had to hold back her eye roll as she walked down the hall back into the empty waiting room. Piper sat in a chair in the far corner of the room to call Blair. The phone barely rang once before it was picked up.

* * *

"How's dad doing? Is he okay?" Blair quickly asked causing Alex to snap out of her daze.

"He's going to be fine. The doctor wants to keep him for four days before he can be released."

"Jesus…I was so scared, mom."

"I know you were, sweetheart. I was scared too."

"When are you coming home?"

"Soon, visiting hours are almost over."

"Okay…mom, can you hold on a second?"

"Sure?" Piper heard Blair's muffled voice before it became clear again.

"Do you know what's up with Alex? She's been acting weird since she got here."

"No? What has she been doing?"

"She just isn't her normal sarcastic self. She doesn't feel like my mom."

"Maybe she's just having a bad day. I can talk to her when I get home."

"Don't mention I said anything okay? She's coming back, I gotta go. Love you, mom."

"Love you too, Blair."

"That was Piper I'm assuming?" Alex asked as she handed Blair the notebook she had asked for. "Yeah it was, she said dad is doing okay but he won't be home for four days." Blair took the notebook from Alex and noticed how tired her mother looked. Alex just nodded before returning to her previous spot on the couch across from Blair. The blonde had noticed from the second Alex came over that something wasn't right. Normally Alex was sarcastic and doing her absolute best to bond with Blair, this visit however, Alex sat back and didn't really say much.

As Blair finished her math homework, Piper arrived home looking as tired as Alex. Even in her tired state Piper still remembered to grab dinner for her family. "Two cartons of white rice with a ton of soy sauce for Alex and mini-Alex." The older blonde teased as she passed out dinner. While they ate Blair sat back and watched her mother's talk. Even though they talked about normal boring adult things, Blair noticed how Alex seemed to perk up while talking to Piper. After watching what Blair considered to be flirting for about a hour, the younger blonde decided to call it a night.

"Alright moms, I'm going to bed."

"Do you need help?" Alex asked with a smirk.

" _No_ , I got this." Blair stood up but quickly realized her crutches were lying on the kitchen floor from earlier.

"I gotcha." Alex quickly walked over to her daughter and lifted the blonde into her arms.

"Show off." Piper smirked as Alex easily picked up Blair.

"You know it." Alex said with a wink. The older blonde and brunette locked eyes and smiled at each other, not without Blair noticing however.

"Well, goodnight." Blair said to break the eye lock.

"Goodnight, sweetheart."

Piper watched as Alex carried Blair to her room. Of course seeing Alex be motherly to Blair made Piper want Alex even more. The feeling of lust derailed after remembering her own husband was in the hospital and nearly died. Hearing Blair's bedroom door close forced Piper to look down the hall to see Alex walking towards her will a sad look on her face.

"Well, I guess I'll head home for the night. Call if you need anything." As the brunette turned to leave the pent house, Piper quickly jumped to her feet and grabbed Alex's arm.

"Hey, don't go. Stay here with me."

"Not tonight, Pipes." Alex said barely glancing at Piper.

"Hey…" Piper ran around the brunette so she could actually face her. It was then Piper realized the dark bags under Alex's eyes and the tiredness in them.

"What's wrong, Alexandra?"

"I'm fine and don't call me Alexandra."

"I've known you for twenty-two years, I know when somethings wrong with you. Just tell me whats-"

"I got fired today."

"Oh…oh Alex I'm so sorry." Piper quickly wrapped her arms around Alex's waist for a hug.

"The prick sold the gym to a bigger company who refused to keep us as employees."

"It'll be okay, Al. You'll find another job in no time."

"I'm a registered felon. I had to go through hell and back to convince the prick to let me work at the gym." Alex forced the blonde away leaving a few inches between them.

"Work for me."

"What?"

"I'm serious work for me. You can be my personal assistant."

"Piper I can't ask you to do that."

"We'll you're not asking me so it's fine. You can start on Monday."

"Piper…."

"Yes?"

"Thank you. I promise this will only be until I find another job."

"Don't mention it, we're family." Alex smiled for the first time that day and hugged Piper. When Alex finally wrapped her arms around the blonde, Piper felt a sense of calm she hadn't felt in a while.

"So does this mean you'll stay with me?"

"Do you think it's appropriate to sleep with my boss?"

Piper smiled as she wrapped her arms around Alex's neck and forced their lips together. Just as Alex prepared to lead the blonde towards the bedroom her obnoxiously loud phone chimed a few times in a row. "Can't it wait?" Piper huffed while watching Alex look at her phone.

"It's Nicky, she says I need to get home now."

"Is everything okay?"

"I have no idea but I need to go. We can pick this up later, alright?"

"Okay, be careful."

"I will."

Alex gave Piper a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving the pent house. Piper, feeling slightly discouraged because of Alex's sudden departure, decided to treat herself to a glass or two or three of wine. When the blonde turned to walk into the kitchen she noticed something move down the hall. She immediately knew it had to be Blair and there was a slight chance the younger blonde saw there goodbye or more. "Blair, come out." Piper said almost glaring at the bedroom door. Slowly the younger blonde poked her head out of her room. "I won't tell anyone, mom." Blair said looking down at the ground. "We need to talk about this. Go sit on your bed." Piper walked into the kitchen and grabbed an entire bottle of white wine and opened it before walking into Blair's room.

Blair was sitting on the edge of her bed, hands crossed and head looking down. Piper took a deep breath before sitting down beside her daughter. Blair slightly turned her head and met her mother's gaze.

"You kissed Alex…"

"Yes I did."

"But what about dad? Do you love him?"

"Of course I love him."

"But you're not in love with him. You're in love with Alex."

"I-I don't know. We shouldn't even be talking about this." Piper exhaled before taking a drink of wine.

"Yes we should, I saw my mom cheating on my dad with my other mom. How fucked up is that sentence?"

"Blair language."

"Sorry…but it's the truth. I love dad because he's my dad but I love Alex because she's my mom too."

"You can love them both, Blair. I'm the one who can't-I shouldn't have-"

"Mom, it's alright. I understand what you're going through. Go call aunt Polly so you can talk this out."

"When did you become the adult?"

"When you started drinking a bottle of wine a week." Piper gave a small smile while rolling her eyes.

"I love you, sweetheart."

"I love you too, mom."

Piper walked out of Blair's room and directly into her own. She walked into the in-suite bathroom and started a hot bath. Once the bath was ready, the blonde happily slid down until the water reached her collar bones. With her phone in one hand and the bottle of wine in the other, Piper called her mother for the first time in months for advice.

 **Hey guys! Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out but life was crazy. Please review and let me know what you think! Thank you once again for reading this!**


	7. Chapter 7

"Well Ms. Chapman, you're ankle has healed nicely." Blair's doctor informed the blonde while looking at a x-ray of her ankle. "You can go back to your daily routine without crutches." That sentence was the one thing Blair had been waiting weeks to hear. It defiantly made her life a little easier for the moment. She thanked her doctor before walking out of the room and navigating her way to the waiting room. Finn was sitting in the uncomfortable looking chairs, feet kicked up, and head thrown back.

"Come on Finn, let's go." The blonde said slapping his shoulder. Finn turned his head and smiled.

"Look at you! No more crutches!" Finn screamed as he jumped to his feet.

"I'm free once again."

"It's good to have you back. Plus you can walk around Jennifer's party without tripping over everyone."

Finn wrapped his arm around Blair's shoulder as the two exited the hospital. Blair cringed slightly at the thought of going to Jennifer Stanly's party. The two girls had hated each other since kindergarten. As the pair walked towards the Chapman penthouse, Finn continued talking about Jennifer's party. "It's going to be so cool, Blair. She's having it at her parent's house in Portridge." That immediately caught the blonde's attention.

"Portridge as in Connecticut?"

"Yeah."

"Finn, there is no way in hell my mom is going to let me drive to another state just for a party."

"Well it's a good thing you won't be driving then. There's a train that will take us."

"She's still going to say no."

"Just let me do all the talking. Aunt Piper can't resist my charm."

Blair rolled her eyes and the pair continued their walk. After twenty minutes Blair and Finn arrived at the apartment building. When the elevator doors opened to reveal the pent house, Blair was a little surprised to see Piper and Polly sitting in the living room.

"Look who decided to come home." Polly said smiling at her son and niece. Piper looked up from one of the many papers scattered on the coffee table.

"You're crutches are gone!" Piper excitedly ran over to her daughter and hugged her.

"Yeah. Doctor said I'm good to go."

Blair said with very little emotion. The past two weeks had been hard to say the least. Blair was struggling dealing with her mother's affair, her father's injuries, and school. But the affair was the most difficult to deal with. Blair was confused and upset that Piper would cheat on her father with her mother. The whole situation seemed like a plot for a moderately successful television sitcom.

"Blair and I would like to celebrate her new found mobility with our friends tonight." Finn intervened causing the three women to turn their attention towards him.

"What friends?" Polly said almost glaring at her son.

"Ones from school."

"The same ones who left you in New Jersey at three in the morning?"

"Of course not. I'm talking about Blair's field hockey friends and my friends from the baseball team. You know, the respectable kids like us." Finn once again wrapped his arm around Blair's shoulder and pulled her close.

"Where is this party?" Piper asked folding her arms over her chest.

"It's at the Stanly's pent house." Finn replied as he let go of Blair.

"I thought you hated Jennifer, Blair." Out of the corner of her eye, Blair could see Finn's 'please make up a good lie' look.

"We've patched things up recently. I realized she wasn't that bad."

"Don't you think it's a little weird Monica and Justin would let their teenage daughter throw a party in their luxury pent house?" Polly chimed in as she approached the small group.

"It is a little weird. Monica doesn't like having a lot of people over." Piper said.

"It's just a small party. Maybe ten people at max." Blair said in an attempt to make the older women believe their story.

"Finn, you can go but you have to text me every hour and be home by two."

"Thanks mama. Aunt Piper, can Blair come too?" Finn attempted to do puppy dog eyes, but it just looked like he was flashing crazy eyes.

"Yes Blair can go but the same rules apply. I want a text every hour and your butt in bed by two."

"You guys are the best!" Finn hugged the older women while Blair giggled.

"We know." Polly simply replied.

Blair and Finn retreated to the bedroom to discuss their plans for the night. Piper and Polly stood beside one another with the same knowing look. "Where do you think they're really going tonight?" Polly asked as she walked back over to the couch. "Probably to another friend's house that we don't know that well." Piper sat down beside her best friend and began looking through the stacks of PoPi papers again. Silence fell over the two before Polly spoke up.

"So how's Carter doing?"

"He's doing okay. He went back to the hospital today for an overnight check-up."

"And he still doesn't know about you and Alex?"

"No he doesn't." Piper placed the papers back on the coffee table before grabbing her glass of wine. Shortly after calling her mother for advice, Piper broke down again and told Polly everything. She regretted that choice since Polly asked her about it almost every day.

"Have you at least talked to Alex about this?"

"Not yet. She's been really stressed about finding another job. I don't want to add even more stress by telling her our daughter knows about our affair."

"Piper, you have to tell her."

"I will after she finds a job that doesn't involve working for me."

"I'm holding you to that." Piper rolled her eyes as she got up from the couch. She desperately wanted to change the conversation. The blonde knew there was only one thing that could get Polly off the topic of Alex.

"How about we open a bottle of red wine? The kids are going to party tonight, so why don't we?" Piper walked over to the wine cooler in the kitchen and pulled out a bottle.

"I like the way you think, Chapman."

* * *

Blair stood in front of the full body mirror in her room looking over her outfit. She wore a simple white t-shirt, a red flannel, dark skinny jeans, and white shoes. Blair ran her fingers through her still straight hair and checked her makeup one last time before walking into the living room. Piper and Polly were still talking while Finn sat at the breakfast bar. He had left a hour earlier to change out of his school uniform. Finn was wearing a black t-shirt, army green jacket, ripped blue jeans, and black boots.

"There she is!" Finn jumped off the bar stool causing Piper and Polly to stare at Blair.

"You look nice, sweetheart." Piper said looking over her daughter's outfit.

"Thank you. Ready to go, Finn?"

"Yeah totally. Bye mom, Bye Piper."

"Remember the rules?" Polly said looking between the teenagers.

"Yes." Blair and Finn said in unaccent.

The teenagers said goodbye to their mothers before starting their journey. They managed to hail a cab outside the apartment building that would take them to the train station. The duo would have taken the car, but they were afraid the driver would rat them out to their mothers. After a fifteen minute ride, Blair and Finn arrived at the train station. Finn, being the gentlemen Polly raised him to be, paid for the tickets.

"The schedule says the train will be here in five minutes." Finn announced, pointing to the electronic board beside them with destinations and times. Blair nodded as she looked down at her feet.

"Earth to Blair. Anyone home?"

"Yeah sorry. I'm just thinking."

"About?"

"How bad of an idea this is. You know we're going to get caught or something terrible is going to happen."

"B, relax. Everything is going to be fine. We'll go to the party, drink a little, socialize a little, and then be back home." Just as Blair was about to repeat how bad of an idea it was, Finn's name was called out.

"Finn! What's up, man?!" Blair and Finn turned around to see Matt, one of Finn's baseball friends, yell while the entire baseball team and their girlfriends followed behind him.

"Hey guys!" Finn walked towards the group just as the train pulled up.

A crowd of exhausted looking people exited leaving the cars empty. Blair contemplated joining the exiting group and going back home, but her plan was foiled when the baseball team practically pushed her in. The blonde made her way to the back of the car, she wanted to be as far away from the group as possible. She wished Finn would walk back and join her so she wouldn't be bored out of her mind for the hour and a half train ride. As the train started to move, Blair turned her attention towards the fading lights of the city.

"Mind if I sit here?" An unfamiliar voice asked. The green eyed beauty turned her head to see a boy she didn't know. He was taller than Blair, a little muscular, he had beautiful brown eyes, and light brown hair that was slicked back.

"Uh…sure." Blair managed to spit out, she had to admit that the mystery boy was pretty hot. He sat down across from the blonde and immediately jumped into conversation.

"So, are you excited for this party?"

"Not really, I'm not a huge fan of parties."

"But you go to them a lot?" The blonde raised an eyebrow in a questioning way, she had no idea who the boy was so how did he know her party habits?

"Who are you? I've never seen you at school."

"Oh right, sorry. I'm Keegan, I just transferred here from California." He extended his hand out to the blonde. Blair cautiously shook his hand.

"I'm Blair Chapman, nice to meet you."

"It's nice to finally meet the famous Blair Chapman."

"Famous?" She asked with a nervous laugh.

"Yeah, you're the hero of the field hockey team and popular. At least that's what everyone has told me."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but they hyped me up. I'm just another average girl from Manhattan."

"I don't know about that. You seem pretty interesting to me." Just as Blair was about to reply about how uninteresting she was, Finn appeared.

"What's going on back here?" Finn's eyes darted between the two teenagers.

"We were just talking." Blair blurted out. Finn was known for keeping boys away from Blair.

"Oh yeah? I like to talk too." Finn sat down beside Blair all while keeping his eyes locked on Keegan. Once Finn was seated he leaned forward and squinted, the scene resembled a father talking to his daughter's boyfriend.

"So new guy, how many girls have you slept with? How many hearts have you broken?"

"Finn!" Blair slapped his shoulder hard but he refused to budge. Blair sank down into her seat, her chance with this guy was already over.

* * *

After what felt like an eternity of Finn interrogating Keegan on the train, Blair thought both boys would leave her alone. Of course, that would talk an extreme amount of luck that the blonde just didn't have. As the group started the ten minute walk to the Stanly's home Finn continued to grill Keegan. So far Blair had learned he had an older brother in the military, his parents were divorced so he decided to move with his mom, he loved baseball, and he loved horror movies. When they saw the glow of the house on the mostly dark street, the baseball team ushered Finn to join them, leaving Keegan and Blair alone.

"I don't think anyone has ever asked me _that_ many questions in my entire life."

"Sorry about him. He's the brother I never had so he's pretty protective over me."

"I can tell, but that's a good thing."

Blair turned her head slightly to see Keegan smiling in an almost content way. He kept his content smile until they reached the front porch of the house. Music was blaring but the sounds of people splashing in the pool could still be heard. "Welcome everyone!" came a high pitched yell as the front door opened. Blair could see over the crowd of baseball players and their girlfriends it was Jennifer Stanly herself. Blair felt a cold chill run down her spine when she saw her enemy since kindergarten. Her chestnut colored hair was slightly curled, she was wearing a skin tight red shirt, dark blue jeans, and a pair of pure white running shoes. Before Blair could blend in with the crowd, the whole team piled into the house leaving Blair and Keegan on the porch right in front of Jennifer.

"Blair, nice to see you. Who is your friend?"

"Keegan Halter, nice to meet you." Keegan extended his hand but Jennifer just looked at it. The blue eyed beauty turned her attention to Blair again.

"Blair, I want to talk to you alone." Blair raised her eyebrows, she feared Jennifer would kill her.

"Sure…but after I get a beer." Jennifer's lips twisted into a smile and she stepped to the side.

"Kegs are in the kitchen, liquor on the counter top, and plenty of beers in coolers all around."

Jennifer walked away leaving the door wide open. "Can I get you a drink?" Keegan asked with a genuine smile. Blair nodded, she knew that she would need more than one drink to get through the talk with Jennifer.

* * *

While Blair tried to enjoy herself in Connecticut, Piper was having a little too much fun in New York. The blonde was dancing on top of the breakfast bar, wearing only a white t-shirt, underwear, and an almost empty bottle of wine in her hand.

"Pipes, seriously get down from there." Alex demanded for the third time since she arrived at the Chapman home. The only reason she came over was to drop off a few things that came for Piper at the office.

"Come on, _Alex_! I'm just having a little fun." Piper giggled every word before downing the last bit of wine. Suddenly the blonde jumped off the counter causing Alex to lunged forward incase she fell. The brunette wrapped her arms around her former/current lover since Piper was almost swaying back and forth.

"What the hell is going on with you, Piper? I haven't seen you like this in years."

"Your daughter is what's going on." Piper said with a hint of spite in her voice. She tore herself away from Alex and then walked into the kitchen for another bottle of wine. As soon as Alex saw the blonde reach for another wine bottle she quickly shut the wine cooler door.

"What do you think you're doing? I was about to get another bottle!"

"I know, that's the problem. Come on, Piper, please talk to me." Even in Pipers drunken state she could hear the desperation and fear in her ex-girlfriend's voice.

"Blair knows about us and I think it's making her hate me." She could tell right away Alex was on the verge of freaking out.

"Fuck! I knew this would fucking happen!" The brunette had fully gone into full freak out mode and it made Piper nervous.

"Alex, calm down." The blonde reached out to grab the brunette but, Alex jerked away.

"How do you expect me to calm down? I ruined our kid's life. She was fine before I had to come in and fuck everything up."

"You didn't fuck anything up. If anything, you made things better. Blair was always bothered that she never had you around. When she was younger people would always say things like 'you really don't look like your daddy' or 'are you sure you aren't the milk mans kid?'. It always made her upset." Piper noticed the other woman's demeanor immediately change. Alex went from freak out mode to sad sympathetic mode.

"I'm sorry I put her through that. I'm sorry I put you through that." Alex bowed her head and clenched her eyes in hopes that her tears wouldn't escape. It was a failed effort, they slowly fell onto the hardwood floor.

"It's both of our faults. You went to prison and I kept her away. We're both to blame." Piper whispered as she wrapped her arms around Alex. She forgot just how well they fit together, her head rested perfectly on Alex's shoulder while the brunette's arms rested right above her waist.

The two women stayed in the same position for what felt like hours. Alex was the first to pull away, her dried tear marks were very visible.

"We need to sit down and talk about this as a family. Where's Blair?"

"She's at a party right now with Finn. I told her to be home by two."

"Two?! Your parents would never have let you stay out that late."

"I know and that's why I let her stay out. Don't you remember how bad I was?"

"Trust me, I remember every single detail." Piper rolled her eyes, finally relieved of the seriousness of the situation.

* * *

Music was absolutely booming throughout the entire house, people that looked to old to be in high school gathered in the kitchen, and there were too many red solo cups to count. Blair had just finished her second beer when she decided to escape the madness. As the blonde exited the living room and entered the kitchen, she felt a quick tug on her arm. Before Blair knew what happened, she was surrounded by darkness with two hands on her shoulders. "What the-" she was cut off by the close glow of a cell phone light. It was Jennifer whose hands had been on her.

"I wanted to talk to you somewhere quiet. This is the only place available unless you want to walk downtown to the diner."

"Jennifer, what the hell is going on?" Jennifer smiled and grabbed Blair's hand. The two carefully walked down a narrow and creepy stairwell. Jennifer flipped on the lights to reveal a mini recording studio.

"My dad built this so he could still record music in the summer." Jennifer opened the small door into the recording booth and ushered her enemy in.

' _This is it, this is how I die. Jennifer is going to kill me in a sound proof room and that's how I die.'_ The blonde thought as she passed Jennifer.

"I know what you're thinking, no I'm not going to kill you. I wanted to let you know I'm always here if you need to talk."

"Oh…that's really nice of you, Jennifer." Blair held out her hand for a truce handshake. Instead Jennifer pulled the blonde in for a hug. It caught Blair so off guard she almost had a heart attack.

"When my dad got into his car accident and we thought he was going to die, no one offered to talk to me. I didn't want you to go through that." The memory of Justin Stanly's car accident was an all too vivid one for everyone within their social circle. Blair still remembered walking past the accident in the bitter cold while clutching her mother's hand. She couldn't get the image of the smashed blood stained windshield out of her head. The girls pulled away both wearing sad smiles.

"So does this mean we're good? No more hating each other?" Blair questioned.

"Yeah we're good. I'm sorry I was mean to you all these years."

"Forget it happened, it was all stupid anyway."

The blonde couldn't believe it, years of fighting and hatred came to an end just because of a few kind words. The girls left the recording booth and made their way upstairs. As they climbed the stairs the distinct sound of a bottle smashing could be heard. "I swear if those idiots are making a mess I'm going to kill them." Jennifer snarled. When Jennifer opened the staircase door, she and Blair were surprised to find Finn sitting on the floor with an beer can pressed to his eye.

"Finn, what happened?!"

"Some guy started yelling at me, something about touching his girlfriend. When I told the guy I didn't know what he was talking about, he went batshit crazy and we got into a little fight."

"And now the baseball team is outside ready to riot?" Jennifer asked looking out the window into the backyard. Blair tore her eyes away from Finn and noticed the baseball players looking like they were ready to kill the group of guys who looked too old to be at a high school party.

"We should probably get out of here." Finn said as he struggled to stand up.

"Here's another cold one, dude." Keegan appeared out of nowhere with a cold looking beer in his hand and tossed it to Finn.

"Thanks. Are you coming back with us or are you staying to witness the fun that's about to go down?" Finn put the new beer up to his eye and winced.

"I'll head back with you guys, I don't feel like taking part in a riot. Sorry Jennifer."

"It's alright. I'll take care of it and hopefully see you guys on Monday."

Jennifer went outside to clear the crowd while Blair and Keegan helped Finn outside. The ten minute walk back to the train station took twenty because of Finn's injuries. Blair let out a sigh of relief when they made it to the train station as one of the last trains of the night pulled up to the platform. The trio retreated to the back of the train where they could sit in peace. Keegan helped Finn into a seat and propped his legs up on the chair across from him. Once Finn confirmed he was comfortable, Keegan returned to Blair on the other side of the aisle. The two were seated across from one another both looking exhausted.

"Thanks for helping me with him." Blair said in a hushed voice.

"No problem. Finn is a nice guy, he would have done the same for me."

"He's a great guy. When we were little he would always look after me."

"So are you guys…." Keegan trailed off while looking at Blair.

"We're unofficial cousins. Are moms are best friends and were pregnant at the same time."

"That's pretty cool that you were just born with a best friend. Are your dads close too?" Blair felt her stomach drop, she didn't know how much she wanted to tell Keegan about her homelife.

"Not really. Finn's dad is really laid back and does what he wants, my dad is a cop and loves to follow the rules."

"Wow that-"

"Can you two stop flirting until I fall asleep?" Finn asked while keeping his eyes closed. Blair tried to fight the blush from creeping across her face while Keegan looked at the ground awkwardly. Just when the blonde thought the night was going to end smoothly, Finn just had to ruin it.

* * *

"She should have been home by now." Alex said looking at the time on her phone screen. It had just turned to one a.m.

"Alex, relax. She'll be home soon." Piper grumbled into her ex-girlfriend's neck. The blonde was using the brunette as a body pillow.

"How are you not freaking out? It's one in the morning and our teenage daughter is running around New York City."

"I trust her and know if she gets any trouble, I'll be the first person she calls."

"Carol would have never let you stay out until one in the morning."

"That's why I let her go out. Remember how I had to sneak out or lie about who I was staying with? I don't want Blair to feel like I don't trust her."

"Trust me I remember. We always had the best movie nights."

"Yeah we did." Piper sat up and attacked Alex's lips for the umpteenth time that night. Piper knew Carter would likely be home in the early afternoon so she really wanted to make every second alone with Alex count. As they separated for air, Alex's phone buzzed. The brunette checked it much to Piper's disliking.

"I have to take this. Hello?" Alex did her best to remove the blonde from her lap in a gentle way. One Piper was seated on the couch, Alex entered the elevator and pressed the lobby button.

"Come over! I miss you!" A disheveled voice yelled through the phone. Alex pulled the phone away to avoid further ear damage.

"Anna I told you to stop calling me. We're not doing this anymore."

"Come onnnn! I miss you so much, Alex!"

"No. I'm not coming over."

"But I love you, I love you so much. I bet I love you more than Piper does."

"Shut the fuck up and stop calling me!"

"She won't leave her husband for you. You're just wasting your time."

"Fuck you." Was all Alex could say as the elevator doors opened to reveal the empty lobby. The brunette stepped out as she ended the call with Anna. She knew her ex-love interest was just drunk and trying to get to her, but it didn't make the words hurt any less.

"As crazy as tonight was, I kinda had fun." A familiar voice said catching Alex's attention.

The brunette turned her head slightly to see Blair standing in front of some boy. "Yeah I had fun too. Hopefully next time we hang out a riot wont ensue." Blair and the boy laughed while Alex continued to watch from behind a wall near the elevator. It looked as if they were about to kiss and if that were to happen, Alex wasn't above beating up a teenage boy. Instead of a kiss the two exchanged smiles before saying goodbye. Blair walked towards the elevator and noticed her mother as she rounded the corner.

"Hey mom. What are you doing here?"

"I stopped by to drop a few things off to Piper but then she told me you went out. I wanted to stay until you got home." Remembering the situation her mothers were in made Blair's attitude completely change.

"Oh…well you can go home now."

"Not yet. Piper and I want to talk to you about…our situation."

"You mean your affair? I don't want to talk about it."

"I-no, we're going to talk about this as a family."

"Do we really have to talk about this? You two are hooking up behind my dads back. There is nothing to talk about."

The elevator door opened to the pent house allowing for Blair to storm in. Alex decided in that moment that she wasn't going to allow her daughter to speak to her or her other mother with that attitude. She quickly caught up with her daughter and grabbed her hand, not hard enough to hurt Blair, but stern enough she would stop.

"Blair, we're going to talk about this as a family and we're going to speak to each other with respect." Her tone caught everyone off guard, even herself. Blair pulled away from Alex's slight grip before sitting down on the couch. She looked at both her mothers with a look of anger.

"What do you want to talk about?" The teenager mumbled crossing her arms over her chest.

"We wanted to know how you feel about what you saw a few weeks ago." Piper said sitting down beside her daughter. She wrapped her arm almost protectively around Blair.

"How I feel? I feel pissed off that you're cheating on my dad."

"Anything else? Now's the time to get anything off your chest." Alex said trying her best to give her daughter a supporting look. The look must have worked because Blair took a deep shaky breath before standing up and facing Piper.

"I'm so fucking mad at you from keeping me away from my other mother. My whole life all I wanted was to know who my other parent was and you kept it a secret. I know you were trying to do what you thought was best, but it really messed me up, mom." Blair then turned towards Alex with tears threatening to spill out of her eyes.

"And I'm mad at you for going to prison. Why would you even think of having a kid while being involved with a drug cartel? Didn't you care about me?!" Tears were streaming down the blonde's face as she chocked back sobs. Piper wanted to jump up and tell her daughter just how much she meant to Alex, but the brunette beat her to it.

"You have no idea how much you mean to me. When you were just a little thought we had, I loved you so much and when we actually tried to have you I was so happy. I told my boss I wanted out of the cartel because I had a family to take care of. Even though he let me out, when the cartel was busted they still arrested me and sent me off to prison. But that entire time, I never once stopped thinking about you. You were the only thing that kept me going through the trial. Trust me Blair, if I could go back and change everything I would. I wouldn't miss a second of you growing up."

Blair was full on crying and sobbing by the end of Alex's speech. She wrapped her arms around her mother and cried into her shirt. Alex wrapped her arms around her daughter and kissed the top of her head. Piper sat on the couch watching the two with tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Even though I wasn't around you were so lucky to have Piper. Sure, she doesn't always make the best choices but she's a good woman. She gave you so many things I couldn't." Alex and Piper made eye contact accompanied but sad smiles. Alex pulled away from Blair and cupped her face.

"We love you so much, kid. I don't want us to have a strained relationship so from now on no more secrets. We're going to be honest in this family, okay?" Blair nodded, still crying with shaky breaths. Piper stood up and helped her daughter towards her room. Alex watched as the two hugged before the younger blonde entered the room. Piper walked back to Alex and wrapped her arms around the brunette.

"You really are the greatest person I know. You always know just what to say."

"I've had forty one years of practice."

"Since we're a completely honest family now, we need to talk about us." Piper slightly pulled away but kept her arms around Alex's waist.

"What about us?" The brunette asked in a joking tone.

"How do you really feel about me? I want one hundred percent honesty." Alex's smile dropped as she looked into blue eyes.

"Pipes…"

"Just tell me. I won't be mad or sad."

"I still love you. Even though you fucked me over, I still love you so fucking much."

Piper couldn't fight the smile that spread across her face. Hearing those three words come out of Alex's mouth was something the blonde never thought she would hear again.

"How do you feel about me, Piper Chapman?"

"I still love you too, Alex. I love you so much."

"But, you're married."

"But, I'm married."

"What are supposed to do now? I pretty much just promised our daughter that we won't continue this affair."

"I could file for divorce…" Piper whispered as she retightened her grip around Alex.

"You can't just get a divorce because you want us to fool around and be guilt free. I mean you could but it's morally wrong if you love Carter." Piper's expression seemed to fall even more making Alex's heart break.

"Piper, do you love your husband?" That was the question that released the flood gates. Tears spilled from Piper's eyes as she fully separated herself from Alex.

"He's been apart of our lives for so long. He took care of Blair like she was his own kid. He loved me and took care of me when my parents wouldn't." The blonde managed to choke out.

"But you don't love him?"

"No Alex, I don't love him."

"I mean…if you're not happy it only makes sense to get a divorce."

"I know, it's just that everything will be different. The last fifteen years will be thrown out the window."

"Giving up fifteen years to make room for the rest of your life doesn't sound that bad. I'll be there for you every step of the way."

"I'm glad. Blair is really going to need our support through this."

"I know, I'll be here whenever she needs me."

Piper wrapped her arms around Alex again and the two held on tight to one another. After what felt like hours the women pulled away with somber looks. The blonde asked her ex-girlfriend to leave for the night, she wanted to be left alone with her thoughts. They kissed goodbye before separating for the night. Piper walked into her room and collapsed onto the bed, not caring she wasn't in her typical pajamas. While lying in bed she tried to run through the situation in her head.

' _If I get a divorce I will be happier but Blair will be devastated. If I don't get a divorce I'll be miserable but Blair will be happy.'_

She kept playing the different scenarios over and over in her head. The one that seemed the most realistic was Carter getting extremely mad and Blair being devastated, but after a few months things would clear up and be alright. That was the last thing the blonde thought about before falling asleep.

* * *

The next morning Piper called the private chief to make breakfast for Blair while she was gone. Piper knew her father would be in town for a short business meeting with a few colleagues before going back home. The blonde was seated in her own office searching how divorce effected families on her desktop.

"There's my beautiful daughter." Bill Chapman announced as he entered the office. Piper jumped out of her chair in order to hug her father.

"Daddy, thank you so much for stopping by."

"Of course, sweetheart. What did you want to talk about that was so urgent?" The eldest Chapman sat down across from his daughter with a large smile on his face.

"I decided that I want to divorce Carter." Piper watched her father's reaction carefully. He kept a neutral look as he did the typical business man nod.

"Okay. What can I do to help?"

"I wanted to know if you knew any lawyers that can help me. I would prefer to keep everything that is mine and not give Carter anything."

"My friend Mr. Dee Sidertent. He's one of the best divorce lawyers on the East Coast." Bill pulled out his wallet and shuffled through cards until he found the one he was looking for. He handed his daughter a card with Mr. Sidertent's information with it.

"Thank you, dad. I really appreciate it."

"Anything for my only daughter. You know your mother is going to want to know what we talked about today."

"I know, I'll tell her once I officially file for divorce."

"Piper, if you or Blair need anything don't hesitate to ask. Divorce is never an easy thing."

"I know, dad. Thank you again, for everything."

"It's no problem, sweetheart. Now if we're done here, I need to go visit Danny before I leave the city."

"Will you tell him I said hi?"

"Of course I will."

Once the father and daughter exchanged goodbyes, Piper sat down at her desk again. She picked up the small card with the lawyers contact information and looked intensely at it. She knew as soon as she made the call her life would forever change and if she didn't, her life would continue as normal, affair with Alex included. Before she knew it, Piper was dialing the number into her cellphone. The phone rang a few times before picking up. Piper exhaled as she pressed the phone to her ear.

"Mr. Sidertent? Hi this is Piper Chapman, Bill's daughter. Yes, I was wondering if you could assist me with a divorce?"

 **Hey everyone, it's been a while! I'm sorry it has been so long but I was busy with college. Anyway I hope this extremely long chapter makes up for the lack of updates. If there are any mistakes I'm very sorry! I wrote this over several months and it totaled up to 23 pages. Enjoy and thank you so much for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Little bit of a trigger warning: the first set of italicized story contains violence**

Alex starred at the concrete ground under her feet. It had been seventeen years since she had been placed in a jail cell. Being there again made her feel like the reckless twenty-four year old she once was all those years ago. She felt so disappointed in herself, even though it wasn't her fault she was in there. Everything happened at once. It felt like it took just seconds for Alex to reach the apartment building from Nicky and Lorna's home, another second to walk into the lobby, another second for the elevator doors to open, and one second to be involved in a fist fight with Piper Chapman's soon to be ex-husband.

"Vause, Alexandra." A man in a police uniform announced. Everyone in their holding cells perked up as the man walked down the aisle between cells.

"That's me." Alex stood up and took a few steps towards the door made of metal bars.

"You're out of here. No charges against you will be filed by the state." The man opened the door and Alex stepped out already feeling relieved to be out of her cell.

"You can't just let her fucking walk out! She ruined my life! She tore my marriage apart and turned my daughter against me! How can you fucking let her go?! I'm a police officer I shouldn't be chained like a dog!" Carter screamed from the metal bench he was handcuffed to. He was trying so hard to break free from the restraints, it made Alex laugh on the inside.

"You're not a police officer anymore." The man said before escorting Alex to the front desk.

It all felt too familiar for her. Getting into a stupid fight, ending up in jail with bruised knuckles, the only thing that changed was Piper not being there to greet her. "One cell phone and a wallet with fifty dollars. Sign here." The man handed her a bag with her belongings and a paper. The brunette quickly signed before grabbing her things and headed towards the exit. "That blonde woman was taken to Saint Anthony's. I still have a few officers with her." Alex heard before sprinting to the hospital the officer had told her.

Piper looked at her reflection on her phone screen. Her right eye was black, a slight bruise was forming across her throat, and she had already seen the bruises on her collar bones. Everything happened so fast, one second everything was fine and then the next her world had been turned upside down. "Mrs. Chapman, my partner and I would like to speak with you." A police officer with a terrible pornstache announced once he stopped in front of the blonde in the ER bed.

"Would you like to file charges against your husband?" The other man asked, he looked fairly young and new to the job.

"I would."

"We'll have to take your statement then." The man with the pornstache said.

"That's fine. I'll tell you everything."

"Okay. Tell us what you remember happening." Piper took a deep breath and looked at the tiled ground.

* * *

" _I don't know how I feel about Blair's homecoming date. Who the hell names their kid 'Keegan'? I bet his parents are stoners." Carter said reading news articles on his phone. Piper was completely zoned out as she removed the divorce papers from her bag. She quickly found out the lawyer her father recommended weeks ago was involved with less than legally activity that made things in court move fast._

" _Piper? Don't you agree?"_

" _I want a divorce, Carter." The blonde said placing the papers in front of her husband on the coffee table._

" _What?"_

" _I want a divorce. Please just sign the papers."_

" _Where the hell is this coming from?"_

" _Carter, ple-"_

" _Tell me damnit! Where did this come from? We are a happy married couple."_

" _No we're not! I've wanted a divorce for a while and I feel like now is the right time."_

" _No."_

" _Look, there is no getting out of this. We're going to be divorce whether you like it or not."_

" _I don't like it and I don't like you being around Alex. She's caused nothing but trouble since she came back into your life."_

" _Alex has made mine and Blair's lives better. She's what Blair has always needed."_

" _No she's fucking not!" Carter slammed his hands down and stood up. Piper quickly stood up as well, she was thankful Alex was on her way if things got too bad._

" _Carter please…just sign the papers."_

 _Instead of saying anything Carter walked around the table towards Piper. The blonde quickly walked backwards towards the elevator. "We're not getting a divorce." Carter snarled as Piper pressed the elevator button. "If you don't sign the papers I will go to my attorney and file the correct paperwork. Either way, you and I are no longer married." As the elevator doors opened, Piper practically jumped inside and quickly tried to close the doors. It was no use, Carter followed her into the elevator. Her husband took a step closer and Piper instinctively shoved her husband back. He lurched forward wrapping a hand around the blonde's throat. Piper quickly scratched his face causing Carter to retreat to the other side of the elevator grabbing his injured face._

" _Jesus fucking Christ, what the hell happened to us, Piper?"_

" _You're a fucking piece of shit and I cannot wait to get my daughter away from you and be with the woman I should have been with all along." That was it, Carter fully snapped. He jumped forward again and pushed Piper by the chest. She hit the elevator wall hard and slid down, just as the doors opened to reveal the lobby and Alex._

" _What the fuck did you do to her?" Piper heard Alex's voice call out. Before she knew it, Carter and Alex were in a full blown fist fight. The blonde watched Alex take one hard blow to the face before unleashing the famous Vause Rage on her ex-husband. Moments later security was breaking up the fight and the police were taking Alex and Carter away while attending to the blonde._

* * *

"And that's everything that happened."

"Thank you, Mrs. Chapman. You'll be sent updates about this report." The younger man said before he and his partner walked away. Piper had a moment alone before a nurse approached her with Alex right behind her.

"Mrs. Chapman, is this your wife?" The woman in scrubs asked.

"Yes she is, thank you." The nurse smiled before returning to the chaos of the emergency room.

"So we're married n-" Piper was cut off by Alex wrapping her arms around her incredibly tight. The blonde was able to wrap her arms around the brunette.

"I love you so fucking much. I'm sorry I let you down. I should have ran as hard as I could to get to you."

"Alex, don't. You came and that's all that matters."

"It's not okay. You're my family and I let-I let this happen to you."

"This is not your fault in any way. Alex…" Piper pulled away and cupped Alex's face in her hands.

"I love you so much and all I want to do right now is go somewhere with you."

"You can't go home, the cops won't let anyone in until they're done snooping around."

"Take me to Nicky's then. I just want to be in a home."

"Okay…let's go."

Alex helped Piper out of the emergency room. They walked hand-in-hand until they reached the half way point to Nicky's where they took a cab. After an extremely quiet twenty minute ride, the couple made it to the little housing development. "Welcome to Nichols Manner. The baby is probably asleep so we'll have to keep it down." Alex informed the blonde as they approached the small home. The brunette slowly opened the front door and ushered Piper in.

"No, all I'm saying is you could be a little nicer to my sister." The women could hear Lorna say from the kitchen.

"I would be nicer if she wasn't such a bitch. She has to have a problem with _everything_." Nicky responded.

"Ready to see Nicky after seventeen years?"

"Yes and no. Come on, reintroduce me." Piper gave Alex's hand a reassuring squeeze before they walked into the kitchen.

"Nicky, Lorna, I uh…brought a friend over."

"A friend, who-Piper fucking Chapman. As I live and fucking breath. You look a little rough." The wild hair woman responded.

"Jesus Nichols, she just got attacked by her husband." Alex snapped.

"Al, it's alright. Hi Nicky. It's been a long time."

"Yeah it has. Don't think this means I forgive you for running out on Vause and taking her kid with you."

"I don't expect anyone to forgive me for what I did."

"Alex, what happened to your hand and face?" Lorna cut in.

"I beat the shit out of her husband and took a few hits."

"Nice Vause! I would say we should celebrate but Tony is asleep."

"Actually, I was going to show Piper up to my room. Figured she could use a little sleep after everything that happened tonight."

"Lorna, why don't you show Chapman to Alex's room. I need to have a word with badass over here."

"Sure. Nice to meet you again, Piper. I think we met at a cheer competition a few years ago." Lorna said as she lead Piper upstairs. Nicky waited until she couldn't hear her wife's voice anymore to speak with Alex.

"What the hell are you doing, Vause?"

"What do you mean? Her husband was attacking her and I beat the shit out of him."

"You know what I mean. You've been out of prison for four months, do you really want to go back because of your high school girlfriend? Don't get me wrong, I'm all for assholes like her husband get what's coming to them, but not because of you."

"You don't have to worry about me going back. It was clear in the security footage that it was self-defense."

"Yeah, I've heard that before. Just be careful okay? If she's still the same Piper Chapman I remember this won't be the only shit she drags you into."

"Don't worry, Nick. Me and Piper are going to get our family back. We're going to make things the way they should have been."

"Does your kid know that any of this went down?"

"No, Blair doesn't know." Nicky sighed and shook her head.

"You need to clear this shit up before you try and get your family together."

"I know, but everything is going to be fine."

"Poor girl is going to need a lot of makeup to fix her face." Lorna said breaking up the conversation between best friends.

"I better go check on her. Thank you guys for letting her come into your home."

"It's no problem, Alex." Lorna said.

"It's no problem unless I hear you two fooling around, understood?"

"Yes mom, I understand." Alex playfully groaned.

"Alright Vause, go get some sleep." Nicky said jokingly slapping her with a dish towel.

Alex walked upstairs to her room where she expected to see Piper. Sure enough the blonde was standing in front of the closet searching for something to wear. The brunette stood back and watched Piper for a second. Even when she was beaten and bruised, Piper Elizabeth Chapman was still the most beautiful women she had ever seen.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." Piper smirked as she pulled out one of Alex's old t-shirts.

"A picture wouldn't do you justice."

"You really are the biggest cornball I know." The blonde removed her shirt, briefly showing her toned stomach, before putting on the oversized white shirt. Alex closed the bedroom door behind her before approaching Piper. Once they were close enough, Piper wrapped her arms around the brunette's neck and Alex's arms wrapped around the blonde's waist.

"Should we talk about us?" Alex whispered while rubbing small circles on Piper's back.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"What are we doing? Are we girlfriends or just friends or-" Alex was cut off by Piper crashing their lips together. It was a desperate and messy kiss, but one that made both women smile when they pulled away.

"I think it's safe to call ourselves girlfriends since I'm soon to be a divorced woman."

"It's weird to think that Piper Chapman is once again my girlfriend." Those words made Piper develop a sad smile accompanied by a few tears.

"Piper-"

"If I could take it back I would. I would have waited for you to get out of prison and we would have gotten married and given Blair a normal life."

"The past doesn't matter now, Pipes. I know this is cheesy as fuck, but we have to put the past behind us so we can focus on the future." Piper broke her sad smile to let out a laugh as she continued to let her tears drop.

"Yeah it's cheesy, but I needed to hear it."

"Let's go to bed, Pipes. I think we both need a little sleep."

"Let me call Polly first. Blair is supposed to stay over at her place one the dance is over."

"Okay. I'll be waiting for you."

Alex let go of her girlfriend and kissed her forehead before crawling into bed. Piper stepped across the hall to the bathroom Lorna had shown her before. Once the door was closed, Piper pulled out her phone and called Polly. She knew her best friend was going to want to know every detail but Piper planned on keeping the conversation short.

"Hey Pipes, the kids aren't back yet."

"I figured they weren't but that's not why I'm calling. I-I um, I told Carter I wanted a divorce and things got bad."

"What do you mean? Did he hurt you? Piper, if Carter hurt you-"

"Alex took care of him, he's in jail now. I told the cops I wanted to press charges."

"Jesus…Pipes I'm so sorry."

"It's alright. Can you keep Blair at your place until like noon tomorrow?"

"Of course. Where are you now?"

"Do you remember Nicky Nichols from high school?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm at her place. Alex is still best friends with her."

"Well then…do you want me to send Blair over there in the car tomorrow?"

"That would be great, Polly. Thank you, for everything."

"It's no problem, Piper. We're family. We'll talk tomorrow, alright?"

"Alright, bye Polly."

"Bye Pipes."

Piper hung up and slid her phone back into her pocket. She crept across the hall not wanting to wake the baby she had briefly heard about. When she reentered Alex's room the brunette was already under the covers asleep. For the first time that night, Alex looked peaceful which made Piper happy. All she ever wanted was for the love of her life to be happy and at peace. The blonde carefully slipped into bed, careful not to disturb Alex. Once she was comfortably under the blanket, a arm wrapped around her waist. "Took you long enough, Chapman." She let out a small laugh before nuzzling her face into the taller woman's neck. "Sorry, Al. Go to sleep." Piper whispered before finally allowing herself to finally fall asleep.

* * *

A little after midnight the homecoming dance ended. All the couples decided to stick together and go off to parties, all couples except for Blair, Kegan, Finn, and Jennifer. It did make Blair cringe thinking that Finn and Jennifer were kind of dating. The group of teenagers were together until Finn volunteered to walk Jenifer up to her apartment, leaving Blair and Keegan alone in the limo.

"I had a lot of fun tonight. Who knew you New York City kids knew how to party."

"You thought that was a party? Wait until Summer, that's when the real parties happen."

"Oh yeah? I'll decide that for myself."

"Sure you will." Blair joked slapping Keegan's chest. The two continued to giggle until they looked at one another. The moment resembled that of one in a teen coming of age story.

"Can I kiss you?" Keegan sputtered out. Blair felt all the heat in her body shoot directly to her face. If she said 'yes' it would be her first kiss ever. A lot of people figured since Blair was one of the most popular girls in school she would have kissed a lot of people, that was the farthest thing from the truth.

"S-sure." Blair managed to get out. Before she had time to figure out what to do, her lips were pressed against her date's. It was similar to the movies, there were no real fireworks but Blair felt like they were going off right beside her. A few seconds later the two pulled away and looked directly at one another. Before they got a chance to respond, Finn entered the limo.

"Alright, Jennifer is safely home. Let's head home!" He yelled happily, totally ignoring that Keegan was still with them.

"You're going to make me ride all the way home by myself?"

"Yeah sorry dude, we gottta get home. My parents will flip if we're not back on time."

"Fair enough."

In the five blocks it took to get to the Harper apartment, Blair kept to herself. The blonde kept replaying the kiss over and over again in her head. Her first instinct was to call Piper and tell her all about it as soon as she arrived at Polly's apartment.

"Here's our stop. See you on Monday, Keegan." Finn said as he and Keegan did that weird handshake/hi-five thing boys did.

"See you, Finn. Bye Blair."

"Bye Keegan." Blair flashed a flirty smile before exiting the limo.

Finn and Blair walked into the building, both tired from the past few hours. As they took the elevator up to the third floor, Finn broke their comfortable silence. "So, how was the kiss?" He asked casually as if asking about the weather. "Um…how did you know?" Finn smirked while shaking his head. "Keegan's lips looked a little red. They matched your lipstick perfectly." Blair felt heat spread across her cheeks. "Don't worry, I won't beat him up for doing this. But if he ever puts his hands on you, you let me know, got it?" Blair nodded furiously. "Got it." The elevator doors opened and Finn lead the way to his home. As they walked in, the two teens were met by Polly and Pete sitting on the couch.

"There you two are! We were worried you weren't coming home." Pete walked over to his son and wrapped his arms around his shoulders.

"Come on, boy. I want you to see the book shelf I finished." Pete escorted Finn out of the living room and towards the direction of their home office.

"How was the dance?" Polly got off the couch and approached Blair.

"It was fun. Tonight was possibly one of the best nights of my life." Polly forced herself to smile due to the situation with Piper. The older woman wrapped her arms around her niece and hugged her tightly.

"I'm glad you had fun, sweetie. I want you to know that no matte what happens with your parents, I'm always going to be here for you."

"Oh…thank you, Aunt Polly." Polly pulled away slightly and smiled at the younger blonde.

"I love you, Blair. Now go wash off your makeup and get some sleep."

"I love you too. Don't worry, I have a feeling I'm going to sleep pretty well."

Blair and Polly said their goodnights before Blair prepared to get ready for bed. She removed all the makeup Piper had helped her put on and changed into a sweatshirt and sleep shorts before climbing into Finn's king sized bed. As she fell asleep, Blair thought about how excited she was to tell her mother how the night had gone.

* * *

"Alex, do you want sausage or bacon?" Lorna asked, the short Italian woman was making breakfast for everyone before she left to go to her sister's house.

"Neither, thank you. I'm good with my coffee and toast."

"Okay but when you're hungry later don't come crying to me." She said in a teasing manner.

Alex smiled as she turned her attention to Piper and Tony. The blonde had been taking care of the seven month old since she woke up. It warmed Alex's heart to see Piper with a baby, it made her imagine how she was with Blair. Her girlfriend was feeding the baby a few slices of fruit, which Tony was loving.

"I remember when Blair was this age. She used to throw food like crazy."

"Not our sweet Blair, she would never do anything like that." The brunette said in a completely sarcastic tone.

"Have you heard from Blair?" Alex asked.

"She called me while you were in the shower. She said she was going to shower then she would be right over."

"I really don't want to have this conversation with her."

"I don't either, but we have to do it. There really is no way around not talking about a divorce."

"Okay Tony, let's go. We have to go see your cousins." Lorna interrupted the women. She had Tony's diaper bag slung over her shoulder and her purse in her left hand. Piper carefully handed over the baby to his mother.

"Good luck with your talk ladies. You're more than welcome to stay here if you can't go back to your fancy pent house."

"Thank you so much, Lorna. I really appreciate this."

"It's no problem, Piper. You're apart of our family now."

The women said their goodbyes before Lorna left to go to her sister's home. Piper and Alex sat in the kitchen, the only sound was that of the clock ticking. Piper reached across the table and squeezed her girlfriend's hand. "I don't think I've ever said this before, but thank you for being apart of Blair's life. You could have told her 'fuck off' or just ignore her but you didn't. You've made her so happy and I can't thank you enough." Alex nodded and gave a sad smile. "I love her so much. All I want to do is make her happy." The two women sat in a comfortable silence until a car door slammed shut outside. "I'll go get her." Alex got up and hastily walked out the front door.

"Hey mom!" Blair jumped into Alex's arms for a hug.

"Hey kid. How was your dance?"

"So much fun even thought the music sucked." Blair let go of Alex but still maintained a vibrant smile.

"I understand, the music you kids listen to today is trash."

"You sound like my grandpa."

"So now I'm as old as Bill? Keep talking you won't have anywhere to sleep tonight."

"Sure mom." The blonde hugged Alex again. It broke the brunette's heart knowing she was going to have to ruin her daughter's mood.

"Come on, kid. Me and Piper need to talk to you."

"Moms here? Who's house is this?"

"It's my friend Nicky's. Play your cards right and you might get to meet her."

"Cool."

Alex escorted the younger blonde inside where Piper was waiting. Blair smiled when she saw her mother sitting in the kitchen. "Hey mom." She said as she approached Piper. Piper slowly stood up and just as slowly turned to face her daughter. The pep Blair once had in her step was gone when she saw her mother's bruised face. "Oh my god…w-what happened to your face?" Blair sprinted the last few feet that separated her and her mother. "Sweetie, I'm okay. But, Alex and I need to talk to you about something." Piper ushered her daughter to sit down while she and Alex stood beside one another. Blair looked back and forth between her mothers with pure panic in her eyes.

"Blair, I asked Carter for a divorce and he didn't react well to it. That's why my face looks the way it does." Piper tried to explain the best and calmly she could. Both Piper and Alex watched to see their daughter's reaction.

"Dad-Carter did this to you?" Piper nodded to her daughter's question. Blair blankly looked down at the tiles below of her feet. A few seconds passed before tears fell from her eyes.

"Sweetheart." Piper wrapped her arms around Blair, doing anything she could to relieve some of the tension the situation brought on. Alex knelt down and placed a hand on Blair's knee.

"D-does this m-mean you're g-going to live w-with us?" The younger blonde lifted her head slowly and looked directly into Alex's eyes.

"Yeah, I can stay over a few nights if you want me to." Blair nodded her head with a small smile making Alex and Piper feel like everything would be okay again.

After some time had passed the blonde duo went upstairs leaving Alex alone with her thoughts. Sure she was happy that Piper was away from her dickhead of a husband, but she was sad about the damage it had caused to their little family. "She surprisingly fell asleep." Piper quietly announced as she flopped down beside Alex's feet on the couch.

"This is so fucked up." The brunette whispered as she looked at Piper.

"I know, but we'll get through this."

"Jesus, when did our lives turn into a drama movie? One second everything is fine and then the next second is like a bomb going off."

"It started when we were younger." A few seconds of silence occurred before Alex sat up.

"If you could go back and change things, would you?" Piper protectively crossed her arms over her chest and settled further into the couch.

"Of course I would. If I could have stopped you from going to prison, I would have. Going through…everything was awful."

"Do you think we would have been good parents together?"

"I think so. We would have been the 'cool parents'. We would le her do some fun things but not let her run wild."

"We would have been awesome."

"Yeah…we would have."

* * *

 _"Are you sure you don't want us to go in with you?" Danny Chapman asked his little sister. He and Cal came to the courthouse for moral support since Bill and Carol refused to. "I need to do this on my own." The middle Chapman child said as she toyed with the bottom of her blouse. "We'll be out here when you're done. If you get the chance tell Alex I said hi." Piper nodded even though she knew Alex would be taken away right after sentencing. A sudden abundance of shouting snapped the Chapman children out of their conversation. All the journalists were huddled on the stairs of the courthouse yelling things at a man. Piper knew who the man was, he was Alex's lawyer. "That's my que to go. I'll see you guys later." The blonde carefully got out of the car and adjusted her outfit. "Good luck, little sis." Danny said making the blonde smile. She took one last breath before making her way to the courthouse._

 _It was mayhem as soon as she walked in. Men and women dressed in suits covered every inch of marble floor. The blonde maneuvered through the crowd so she could make it into the courtroom. When she finally entered the courtroom, Piper immediately spotted Diane sitting in the crowd. "Hi sweetie." Diane stood up and hugged Piper when she reached their normal spot._

" _Hi Diane. How are you doing?"_

" _As best I can. How about you?" The older woman asked as they sat down._

" _Not great. This is all really stressful." Piper looked down at her slightly enlarged belly. She was three months pregnant and her belly felt like it was growing at a rapid pace._

" _I know what you mean, kid. This is the last day I can take off before I get fired."_

" _I-"_

 _Before Piper could give her apologizes to Diane, a door near the jury stand opened. Two correctional officers lead in an orange jumpsuit clad Alex. The brunette looked exhausted and it broke Piper's heart. Alex briefly looked at her mother and girlfriend, flashing both of them a reassuring smile before sitting down with her lawyer. Piper wanted nothing more than to run over to her girlfriend and wrap her arms around her and of course tell her about their child. A few moments later the jury arrived from the same door as Alex. Moments after that, the bailiff emerged and made the announcement for everyone to rise. The male judge took a look around the room before sitting down, signaling everyone else sit down._

" _Today it will be decided what the sentence of Alexandra Pearl Vause, who has been charged with drug trafficking and intent to sell." The judge announced while reading off a peace of paper. With every word Piper felt her heart beat a little faster. She felt Diane hold her hand and squeeze it for support._

" _I, Judge Anderson Moore, sentence Alexandra Pearl Vause to seventeen years in prison without the possibility of parole. Alexandra, do you have anything to say before it is official?"_

" _I do your honor." Alex stood up and briefly looked over her shoulder. She made eye contact with her mother and then Piper before facing the judge._

" _I'm sorry for all the damage I've caused and for ruining my loved ones lives. I don't think I can ever forgive myself."_

" _You'll have time to forgive yourself in prison." The judge banged the gavel and the bailiff asked everyone to rise again. Piper couldn't bring herself to stand, she was afraid if she did she would fall. Without warning tears streamed down her face and a familiar sick feeling creeped into her lower stomach._

" _It'll be okay, Piper. We'll get through this." Diane said hugging the blonde while softly crying. Piper couldn't bring herself to speak, she only cried._

 _Diane escorted Piper out to the main area. They were able to see the journalists frantically preparing for the lawyers to walk out, it made Piper sick. "Fucking vultures. The things they're writing about everyone, about Alex, it's disgusting." Diane said glaring at the group. Piper nodded and tried to pull herself together. It was then she wanted to tell Diane about her pregnancy. As she tried to stop her lips from quivering, Diane cut her off._

" _You'll be able to see Alex next month probably. When Lee was locked up the first time it took a month for me to get approved to see him. Writing might take a little longer though."_

" _O-okay." Piper said as she came out of her emotional hurricane._

" _Did you drive yourself here?"_

" _N-no, my brother drove me."_

" _Come on, let's get you to the car."_

 _Diane wrapped a supportive arm around Piper and walked outside. The sea of journalists parted slightly for the women. As they walked, Piper could hear their mumblings about Alex's sentence and what everyone else's would likely be. The blonde did her best to block the slander out as she approached her brother's car. Just a foot shy of reaching the vehicle, Diane gently grabbed Piper's face. "If you need anything, anything at all, you let me know. We're family now, got it?" The blonde nodded as more tears fell down her face. She and Diane hugged for what felt like hours before Piper finally got into the car with her brothers._

" _So, I guess you and Alex are officially over." Cal said from the backseat. Danny turned around at warped speed and slapped his younger brother across the shoulder._

" _Shut up, dumbass. You alright, Pipes?"_

" _I'm fine. I just want to go home."_

" _I know you do, but how are you feeling like health wise. I know stressful events can hurt a baby."_

" _The baby is fine, it just wants me to sleep."_

" _Alright. Put on your seatbelt and we'll go."_

 _The drive back to the Chapman home was deathly silent besides Cal occasional comment about whatever song was on the radio. As soon as the car came to a stop in the driveway, Piper sprinted into the house. Her goal was to avoid Bill and Carol for as long as possible. Of course she couldn't get that lucky and was immediately met by her parents._

" _Piper, sweetheart, your mother and I would like to-"_

" _How long were you going to hide this?" In Carol's hand was a recognizable envelope from her OB/GYN._

" _I'm really tired and don't want to talk about this right now."_

" _You don't want to talk about our grandchild? Or you just don't want to talk about it's father? I don't like Alex but I never thought you would cheat on her."_

" _Carol, don't go accusing the girl." Bill said._

" _Who's baby is it? Do you even know?"_

" _Yes I know, mother."_

" _Well then go ahead. Who are we going to have to fight custody for?"_

" _Alex. I am carrying Alex's baby. We did IVF and now I'm pregnant with her child. Happy mother?" Piper snapped, every word having a harsh tone._

" _W-what?"_

" _You heard me, mother."_

" _You're pregnant with a felon's child…oh my…" Carol grabbed a nearby table for support. Bill grabbed his wife to hold her steady while giving his daughter a threatening look._

" _I think it's best you two stay away from one another for a while." Bill said, he helped his wife to the living room couch while Piper ran to her room. She slammed the door shut and allowed herself to cry again. The blonde sat on her bed with her hands pressed to her face. This wasn't how her life was supposed to be, Alex was supposed to be there holding her hand through the pregnancy, they were eventually going to get married, they were supposed to be together as a family._

" _Piper?" She looked up to see Bill poking his head into her room._

" _What?"_

" _Are you okay?" Bill entered the room and closed the door behind him. He sat down beside his daughter and placed a comforting hand on her back._

" _No dad, I'm not alright. My life is falling apart."_

" _Let's calm down and think about this. How many months along are you?"_

" _Three, I'll be four months in two weeks."_

" _Okay. Does anyone know?"_

" _Polly, Danny, and Cal are the only ones who know."_

" _Good. When you start to show tell people the baby's father died."_

" _What? Why?"_

" _Alex is now a convicted felon and if people find out it's her baby you're having, there's a chance they will judge the baby for Alex's actions. You don't want to potentially ruin your child's life, right?"_

" _Of course but one day it'll ask who it's dad is. I don't want to lie to my child."_

" _You'll figure out when the time comes, sweetheart." Piper exhaled deeply and shook her head._

" _So are you guys going to kick me out?"_

" _Of course not. You're mother is a little upset and shocked right now, but she is excited about a grandchild and so am I."_

 _That statement made Piper smile. A majority of stress she had felt for months had just been swept away._

* * *

After a few hours of anxiously waiting at Nicky's home, Piper finally received the call that she and Blair could go home. As per request by Blair, Alex accompanied the women home. As they rode the elevator up to the pent house a familiar feeling popped into Alex's stomach. She could remember reentering her home after Diane and Lee had the police called for fighting. It angered the brunette that her daughter had to go through the same thing. She was snapped out of her thoughts when the large silver doors opened to reveal the penthouse.

Blair was the first to step out of the elevator. Piper and Alex stood a few feet back, curious to see what the girl's reaction would be. "It doesn't feel like home anymore." The teenager said looking around the living room. The police didn't take their shoes off resulting in scuff marks and footprints on the floor, pillows and other things were carelessly thrown on the floor, and various items of furniture were moved. Blair turned around to face her mothers, her arms were crossed over her chest and she looked at the floor. "Can we go back to Nicky's house? I don't want to stay here." Piper and Alex looked at one another, both silently asking 'what the hell do we do?'. "You wont have to stay here, but I don't know if you'll be able to stay at Nicky's. Their family comes over a lot on the weekends." Blair's expression fell even more and she nodded her head. "You can go pack up some of your things, Blair. Alex and I need to talk." The younger blonde nodded before walking to her room.

"Why don't you want us to stay with Nicky and Lorna?"

"They are both great women but they have so much on their plates already. They have a baby, they both work, and one of Lorna's nieces or nephews always has to stay over. That house is a mess and I don't want to bring you guys into it."

"I guess we can go to my parents house. They already know I want a divorce."

"You heard Blair earlier, she wants me to stay with you guys. I doubt your parents will let me anywhere near their house."

"Could we stay with your mom? I know she lives a little father away than my parents, but Blair really doesn't want to stay here or be away from you."

"I don't know, Pipes. She's excited to meet Blair, but she's not exactly your number one fan." Alex watched Piper's sad look turn into an intrigued look.

"Then you take Blair to your mom's place and I'll stay with my parents."

"If you're comfortable leaving her with me then I think it'll work."

"Of course I'm comfortable leaving her with you. You're her mother, Alex."

"I know, it's just the whole going to prison thing."

"Whatever, you know how great of a mom you are."

Piper threw her arms around Alex's waist and rested her head on the brunette's chest. Alex wrapped her arms around Piper's shoulders before kissing the top of her head. "I know. I just worry sometimes." The blonde pulled away giving Alex her signature 'everything will be okay' look.

"I'm going to go talk to Blair and ask her how she feels about meeting your mom."

"Alright. I'll call my mom and let her know what's going on." The couple separated, Piper went into Blair's room while Alex stayed in the living room. The brunette took a deep breath before dialing her mother's number.

"Hello my daughter who seems to think she can go a week without calling me." The oldest Vause said with a sarcastic tone.

"Hi mom, nice to talk to you too."

"How are things in the city?"

"A little chaotic. That's why I need to ask you for a favor."

"Which is?"

"Can I come visit and bring my kid with me? We'll only be there for two or three days, four max."

"Sure, but you know this house isn't very big. You two will have to share a room."

"That's alright. We just want to get away for a while."

"I understand that. Are you guys coming over today?"

"I think so. My goal is to leave by four and hopefully be there by seven."

"Alright, well if that doesn't work let me know. I'm not going to clean for nothing." Diane laughed.

"Alright mom. Talk to you later, love you."

"Love you too, kid."

When the call ended, Alex walked to her daughter's room. She immediately noticed a half filled suitcase sitting on the bed. Piper and Blair were standing by the closet trying to decide on what the younger blonde should pack. "Take another sweatshirt just in case. It might be cold while you're there." Piper said as she handed her daughter a thick sweatshirt. Blair tossed it in the direction of the suitcase before turning to Alex.

"Will your mom like me?"

"Of course she'll like you. But I told her we were going to be at her place by seven, so pick up the pace a little."

"I have everything packed. I'm ready to go." She said eagerly.

"You need clothes too, Alex." Piper said.

"Don't worry, Diane kept all my clothes after I went to prison."

The women went silent at the mention of prison. Piper remembered packing up all of Alex's clothes and having Danny drop them off on Diane's doorstep.

"Great, then let's go." Blair said eagerly once again as she zipped her suitcase.

"Give me a hug before you run off." Piper held open her arms and wrapped her daughter in them.

"I'll call you into school on Monday and if you want to talk to me while you're there, just call."

"I will, mom."

"I love you, Blair."

"I love you too." After their goodbye, Blair grabbed her suitcase and took it out to the living room.

"Take care of her, alright? Talk to her if she needs it."

"Don't worry, Pipes. I got this."

"Okay. Thank you for doing this. I love you."

"It's my job as a mother and I love you too. We'll talk soon, okay?"

"Okay."

The lovers shared a quick kiss before Alex walked out of the room, leaving Piper alone. Once she heard the elevator doors close once again, the blonde called her parents to alert them of her arrival.

While Piper called her parents, Blair and Alex were preparing for their long journey. They got into Piper's car and gave the poor driver the address. Diane lived in a small town a few towns over from the Chapmans and was a pretty long drive. Alex hoped Blair would fall asleep so she could also fall asleep without guilt. Of course, that didn't happen and the brunette ended up falling asleep.

"Alex, wake up." Green eyes shot open to mostly darkness in the car. "Is this the right house?" Blair asked pointing out the window Alex was sitting by. Alex carefully rubbed her eyes under her glasses before trying to focus on the dimly lit house. Sure enough, it was Diane Vause's home. "Yeah this is it." They both thanked the driver before getting out and retrieving Blair's suitcase. They were a few feet away from the front door when it suddenly opened. "There you two are!" Diane ran outside and immediately hugged her daughter while Blair awkwardly stood back. "Nice to see you too, mom. This is-" Alex was cut off when Diane pulled away and looked at Blair.

"You must be my grandbaby! It's so nice to finally meet you." Diane hugged Blair with the same excitement as Alex.

"It's nice to meet you too." The teenager managed to say through her shock. Sure her other grandparents were excited to see her, but they were never as excited as Diane was. When Diane pulled away she immediately cupped Blair's face and just stared at her.

"You look so much like your mother."

"She's way prettier than I was at her age." Alex intervened causing Diane to let go of Blair's face. The older woman pinched her daughter's cheek causing Alex to groan and pull away.

"It doesn't matter how old you get, you'll always be my baby."

"Come on you big sap, let's go inside."

Alex grabbed Blair's bag and the trio walked inside. Diane's home wasn't anything special. It was small, but that's what a single fifty eight year old woman needed. Alex gave her daughter a quick tour of the home while Diane finished cooking dinner. When they reached the bedroom where Blair would be sleeping, Alex closed the door behind her. "What do you think of your grandmother?" The brunette asked, she was nervous because Diane sometimes rubbed people the wrong way. "I like her. She's nice." That made Alex smile she loved her mother and daughter so much, she wouldn't know what to do if one didn't like the other.

"I'm glad you like her. She's one of the hardest working women I know. She really does deserve the world."

"It's kinda weird seeing you guys talk and hug. Mom isn't like that with GC."

"Your grandma Carol is a hard to please woman, but she loves Piper."

"I know she does…" Blair's mind trailed off to how her grandparents were going to handle the news of the divorce. She figured Bill would probably end up killing Carter and Carol would struggle to accept that her daughter was a divorced woman.

"Hey kid, let's go get some dinner." Alex said pulling Blair from her thoughts.

That night after dinner, Diane showed Blair every picture of Alex she had. She also shared every single story of Alex getting into trouble that should would remember or that were known. Alex would try to stop her by saying 'Mom, please stop' or 'She doesn't need to know that'. Watching the women jokingly bicker back and forth made Blair laugh for the first time since finding out about her parents divorce and the assault on Piper. Unfortunately, no amount of laughter could fight off the teenagers natural want for sleep. Around midnight, the blonde announced her departure and went to bed. Once Diane heard the bedroom door close she looked at her daughter with a serious look.

"Now that the kid is in bed, why are you two here?"

"Piper told her husband she wanted a divorce and he attacked her. Blair didn't want to stay at their apartment so I brought her here."

"Let me guess, you fought her husband?" Diane looked down at her daughter's bruised knuckles.

"Yeah I did…"

"Jesus Christ. I told you not to get involved with her again."

"She's the mother of my child, I wasn't going to let that asshole get away with hurting her."

"I know you're all about being a badass but you need to be careful. I don't want you going back to prison."

"I promise I won't go back."

"So does this mean you and Piper are back together?"

"We won't make things official until she's divorced."

"Don't expect me to just welcome that hussy back into my home. Not after keeping that sweet girl away from me all these years."

"I don't expect it to happen right away, but please try. I want us to try and be a normal family."

"I can try but I'm not promising anything." Diane crossed her arms over her chest, giving Alex a slight scowl.

"Thank you, that's all I ask." Alex looked at her mother with a smirk. Once she told Diane that Piper had broken up with her once she went to prison, the oldest Vause swore off the blonde _forever_. It made the brunette happy that she was willing to try accepting Piper back into her life.

"Alright, I gotta work the morning shift tomorrow so I'm going to bed. Love you and goodnight."

"Love you and goodnight." Alex repeated as Diane ruffled up the brunette's hair while walking past her. The brunette laid down on the couch and tried to make herself as comfortable as possible.

* * *

"You know they're probably going to hire someone to kill him in jail, right?" Cal told his sister. Piper was surprised to be greeted by her younger brother when she first came to her parent's home. They were sitting on the front porch drinking beer and discussing life.

"They won't do that. Daddy likes to see justice served."

"I can't believe he attacked you. Carter didn't seem like the type of guy to do that."

"People can surprise you. I still don't know what to tell Danny."

"Oh you know he'll get thrown into jail just so he can kill Carter."

"Trust me I know. Have you visited him in a while?"

"I saw him last week. He asked me about football season and I told him I didn't know and he asked how you were and I told him you were alright."

"I really need to go see him. With changes at PoPi and everything with Alex, I haven't really had time to go see him."

"I'm sure he'll understand, after all he is Daniel 'Cool' Reginald Chapman."

"Can he really be called that if you're the only one who says it?"

"Duh, a nickname is a nickname." The siblings were interrupted by the front door opening behind them. Their father stood holding the door open while looking directly at Piper.

"Can you come inside and talk for a minute, sweetheart?"

"Yeah I can."

Piper handed her beer to Cal before following her father inside. It was past nine-thirty so Carol was already in bed asleep leaving the duo to have some privacy. They walked into Bill's office, it was kind of an honor to be allowed in Bill's office. Growing up only very important business men were allowed inside, it made Piper smile knowing she was important enough to enter. The elder Chapman sat behind his desk while the younger sat across from her father in a leather chair.

"I called the DA and told her your situation. She suggested that if a trial starts, you need to be prepared to be called to the stand and get anyone out of your life that might be harmful."

"Let me guess, you mean Alex. I can't get rid of her though, she's part of the case."

"You don't have to get rid of her completely, just cut ties for a while. Don't see one another, don't allow her to come to your home, and keep her away from Blair."

"Daddy, I can't do that. Alex and Blair have gotten really close."

"Like I said, this isn't permanent it's just until the trial ends-if there even is a trial."

"Do you know when he has to plea?"

"Should be Monday morning."

"Alright. I'll call Alex and tell her what's going on." Piper stood up and approached the door, but she was stopped when Bill said her name. When the blonde turned around, her father had a sympathetic look on his face.

"Don't worry sweetheart, we'll get through this."

"Thanks, dad. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Piper."

Piper walked to her old bedroom and locked herself in. Before getting ready for bed she called Alex to let her know the possibility of what may happen. She was shocked when the phone went to voicemail. Instead of giving the potentially devastating news, Piper left another message. "Hey Al, it's me. I-I uh wanted to say how much I love you and Blair. No matter what happens, we're always going to be a family, I promise. We'll talk tomorrow, I love you." Piper hung up and sat on the edge of her bed. She couldn't help but wonder if what she said was true, could they really be a family no matter what happened?

 **Hey guys! Hope everyone is doing well! I wanted to give you guys this chapter before I start getting busy with work and life. Sorry for any errors once again this was written over several weeks (and was 33 pages long) so it's hard to catch every mistake. Please leave a review and let me know what you think. Until next time!**


	9. Chapter 9

_It was a chilly March afternoon. Most of the snow was gone except for the occasional clump on the side of the road. Piper was sitting in her car, outside the prison Alex had been sent to. She was trying to convince herself to walk in and fill out the necessary paperwork to get on Alex's visitors list. Her thoughts of her ex-girlfriend potentially hating her made the blonde hesitant to go through with it. The smallest whimper from the backseat broke Piper out of her thoughts. She looked in the review mirror to see the smallest set of hands poke out from the car seat. The whimper then turned into a full cry, a noise Piper had gotten used to in the last month. The blonde got out of the car before sliding into the backseat._

" _Hey pretty girl. Why are you crying, huh?"_

 _The recently new mother lifted her child out of the car seat. Blair continued to cry as Piper checked her diaper. "You're probably hungry. Just give mommy a second." Piper removed a premade bottle from a yellow duck covered diaper bag. The baby girl happily accepted the bottle and sucked like her life depended on it. "Slow down, munchkin. It's not going to run away." Piper teased even though the baby couldn't understand. While Blair continued to eat her mother's mind slipped away to the harsh reality she was facing. If she did get on Alex's visitor list, Piper would have to bring Blair each time she visited. Could she really handle taking a baby on a four hour drive every weekend? What about when her daughter became a toddler? a child? a teenager?_

 _It wasn't until a tear slid down to her chin that Piper realized she was crying. She had to let the tears fall since both hands were preoccupied with her daughter. "I'm sorry we got you into this mess, Blair." She whispered to the baby. Little green eyes focused on Piper before being accompanied by a gummy smile. She really was a little version of Alex. "I promise one day you'll get to meet your other mother, just not now."_

* * *

" _Piper, dear, your father and I are leaving to have dinner with the Johnsons." Carol announced as she walked into the living room. As per usual, Piper as sitting on the floor playing with Blair._

" _Okay, mother. Have a safe night." She responded absent mindedly while lifting Blair off the ground a little and watching her little legs try to stand._

" _She looks so much like Alex." Carol said while approaching the pair. Piper tensed a little at the comment. Usually when Carol brought up Alex she didn't have the nicest things to say._

" _Yeah she does." Piper brought her daughter close to her. Blair tucked her little arms into herself and nuzzled into her mother's neck. Neither Chapman woman could fight off their smiles from the adorable sight._

" _You're a wonderful mother, Piper." Piper looked at her mother with a small smile._

" _Thank you. I just want her to have a happy life." The blonde pulled away slightly and kissed her daughter's head. Blair let out a happy baby squeal in response._

 _Carol knelt down and placed a kiss on her daughter's head. It shocked Piper considering Carol really hadn't show her any kind of positive gestures since finding out she was pregnant. The older Chapman then kissed her granddaughter's head, making sure to smooth down her standing hair. "Grandma loves you, little one." She whispered before standing up. "And I love you too, Piper." Carol started towards the kitchen when she heard Piper whisper. "I love you too, mom."_

* * *

 _"Mommy's home!" A squeaky little voice excitedly yelled when the front door of the Chapman home closed. Piper heard little footsteps padding towards her before finally seeing her daughter. The blonde knelt down and opened her arms for her daughter. Blair threw herself into Piper's arms with another excited squeal._

" _Hi my sweet girl. Did you miss me today?" Piper received a nod as a response. It made her heart happy knowing her daughter missed her while she was at work. The blonde picked up her daughter and walked into the kitchen where Danny could usually be found making dinner._

" _Welcome home, little sister. I see you found my sous-chef." The eldest Chapman sibling pointed towards his niece with a spoon._

" _I did. Blair, were you helping Danny cook?"_

" _Mhm! I'm his bestes helper!" Blair announced with a huge smile on her face._

" _That she is. But, she's been telling me how excited she was for you to get home so you two could play."_

" _Really?"_

" _Yeah. I missed you, mommy." Blair nuzzled her mother's neck. Piper seriously felt like her heart was going to explode from happiness._

" _You guys can go play. I'm not even close to having dinner finished."_

" _Okay. If you need us we'll be playing hide and seek."_

" _Yeah! Hide and zeek!" Blair chirped. The adults laughed at her cuteness._

* * *

Piper looked down at all the pictures of Blair when she was a baby, a toddler, and a kid. She would be lying if she said she didn't miss the days when it was just the two of them. Blair was Piper's world and Piper was Blair's world. It felt like a far call from their current relationship. Piper felt like her daughter was going to hate her forever because of where their lives currently were.

"What are you doing, mom?" Blair's voice broke Piper out of her negative thoughts.

"Just packing up the rest of the pictures. Did you get your room packed?"

"Yeah. All that's left if the bed." Blair started to walk back down the hall when Piper felt the urge to hug her daughter and that's exactly what she did. Within seconds, Piper was across the room with her arms wrapped around Blair.

"Woah mom. What are you doing?" The younger blonde asked while hugging Piper back.

"I just want you to know how much I love you. Life hasn't been easy these last few months but no matter what, I'm your mother and I'll always be here for you." Piper felt herself start to cry.

"Mom…I love you too. Sorry I've been so weird lately. It's just hard with everything that happened with da-Carter and now we can't be around mom until this stupid trial is over. Plus our house is a mess." The two women pulled away with sad smiles.

"You're allowed to be upset, sweetheart. This isn't an easy situation to be in. But if there is one bright side it's our new apartment."

"You're just saying that because it has a pool."

"A pool and a five star restaurant right down the street, Blair."

Blair rolled her eyes before being pulled into another hug.

"I love you, mom."

"I love you too, Blair. Now, go get some sleep. The movers will be here at seven." Piper pulled away from the hug with a tiny smile.

"Okay, fine. Goodnight."

"Goodnight. Sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bight." Blair's snort echoed down the hall and made her mother smile. Piper couldn't deny that a few seconds of normalcy felt like the best thing in the world.

 **Well look who is kinda back. Sorry it took so long for an update but I was busy with life. I know this is a small update but something is better than nothing, am I right? Anyway, I hope you liked getting a little more insight into Piper and Blair's relationship. Leave a review if you want. until next time guys!**


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